After My Cross-dressing Cover Was Blown, the Movie Star Became My Accomplice - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

◎ The King’s Game Officially Begins! ◎

The sudden rain had soaked everyone’s clothes, but fortunately, the garments were dark and made of a special material, so they didn’t cling to their bodies.

None of them intended to wander around the inn in wet costumes. They took their check-in vouchers, quickly processed their check-ins, were assigned rooms, and each carried their own suitcases toward their quarters.

The inn arranged by the production team was very primitive, without excessive modern renovations. This also meant there were no convenient facilities like elevators for moving luggage; if they wanted to get their bags to their rooms, they had to climb the stairs themselves.

The old wooden stairs were quite steep, the steps worn smooth with a polished patina, though thick hemp ropes had been thoughtfully embedded into the wood to prevent slipping.

Qu Fu and Kong Yanfei didn’t want to lug their luggage up and down, so they were assigned rooms on the first floor, while Cheng Zeyì, Bi Tu, and Mu Yao were assigned to the second floor.

Although Mu Yao was dressed as a woman, he was essentially still a man; carrying a suitcase was naturally no trouble for him.

Just as he was preparing to move his luggage by his own strength, a broad and powerful palm reached out, quite naturally hoisting up his black suitcase.

“I’ll carry it for you. Which room are you in?”

Cheng Zeyì had walked over at some unknown moment. Carrying his own silver suitcase in his left hand and Mu Yao’s black one in his right, he headed up the stairs of his own accord. His steps were steady; even with heavy luggage in both hands, he didn’t waver on the steep steps.

“Heigh-ho! Ow, ow, ow! Why is my old back feeling a bit uncomfortable? Movie King Cheng, could I trouble you as well? Look, this suitcase is well-aged; you can treat it like a senior and give it a lift!”

‘Heh, what a coincidental backache. You just can’t stand Cheng Zeyì helping me and want to enjoy that service yourself, don’t you?’

Mu Yao glanced lightly at Bi Tu, snarking silently in his heart.

“Sure. I wonder if Senior Bi’s suitcase has ‘accumulated’ as much as his years have?”

Cheng Zeyì smiled. He didn’t refuse Bi Tu, but his words made Bi Tu feel choked.

‘Mm, as expected of a Movie King. He doesn’t take losses lying down.’

“I’m in Room 203,” Mu Yao spoke up quickly, not wanting Bi Tu to keep pestering Cheng Zeyì.

“Good. Then we are neighbors.”

Cheng Zeyì continued upward. Reaching the second floor, he checked the room numbers and pointed to the adjacent Room 201.

“Neighbors indeed. Thank you for the help, Movie King Cheng.”

Mu Yao realized the proximity and thanked him politely. Cheng Zeyì nodded, pushed his own luggage to the door of 201, and turned back to the first floor to help Bi Tu.

Mu Yao used his key to open the door. The room’s furnishings were very simple: a wooden table, a rattan chair, a wardrobe, and a fir-wood canopy bed—enough to satisfy basic needs. Opening his suitcase on the floor, he found a bag in addition to the clothes he had originally packed; it contained the replacement outfits given to him by the crew this morning.

“Shower first, then change.”

Closing the curtains, he laid out clean clothes on the bed. Mu Yao stripped off the wet garments, draped them over the back of the chair, tossed the wig onto the table, and headed into the bathroom.

Having washed away the chill from the rain, Mu Yao walked out drying his hair. He looked at the soaking wet wig on the table and sighed softly.

“This hair probably can’t be used. I wonder if the prop department has a spare.”

He grumbled as he picked up the wig, attempting to wring out the water so it could dry for continued use. Just then, a knock came at his door.

“Teacher Mu Yao, I’ve brought something for you.”

The voice outside was familiar—it sounded like the girl who did his makeup. Mu Yao pulled on the clothes from the bed, not even having time to do up the collar buttons before heading to the door.

“Teacher Mu Yao, these are the props you need. I’ve brought them, and you can give me the wet one; I’ll take care of it.”

The girl mysteriously stuffed a black bag into Mu Yao’s hands and reached out for the old one. Mu Yao understood instantly. He returned to the room, put on a fresh wig somewhat clumsily, and stuffed the wet one into the black bag to hand over.

“This feels like an underground secret meeting.”

Once the girl left, Mu Yao closed the door and brushed back the long hair draped over his shoulders, deciding to clip the voice changer onto his clothes first.

He was facing the full-length mirror attaching the device when a sudden chill rose up his back. He instinctively looked up. Through a gap in the slightly parted curtains in the mirror, he saw the figure of a child in red standing outside the window.

He was on the second floor—how could a child be standing outside the window?!

In great shock, he whipped around to look at the window. The figure of the red-clad child was ethereal and formless. She wore a bright red dress. In an instant, her face pressed against the gap in the curtains, leaving only a single eye full of deathly aura. An ethereal, haunting laugh reached his ears.

“Heehee, hohoho… new toys have arrived.”

Mu Yao’s heart sank. At that same moment, a sudden, loud, and heavy crash of something falling over came from Cheng Zeyì’s room next door.

“Oh no, is he being attacked?!”

Subconsciously linking the sound next door to the female ghost, Mu Yao didn’t even have time to put on his outer coat. He ran straight out and headed for the door of 201.

Knocking rapidly and urgently on the door, Mu Yao heard Cheng Zeyì’s confused voice from inside.

“Who is it?”

‘Thank goodness, he’s okay!’

Hearing a voice from the room, Mu Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Half his heart settled; the other half would only settle once he saw the man.

“It’s me, Mu Yao. I heard a very strange noise from your room, Movie King Cheng. I was worried.”

Mu Yao tried to keep his voice calm. He was glad he had remembered to flip the switch on the voice changer when he put it on, otherwise he’d have to play dumb now.

The sound of something else being knocked over echoed inside, followed by a series of hurried footsteps. The door opened from the inside, and Cheng Zeyì looked at Mu Yao standing outside with astonishment.

Upon seeing Mu Yao’s slightly open collar and the inadvertently exposed collarbone, Cheng Zeyì’s pupils suddenly contracted. He took a sharp step back and frantically grabbed an overcoat from the nearby wardrobe.

“I—I’m fine! But you—how can you run out dressed like this? You have to be careful about safety even with the production crew!”

For some reason, he felt the heart in his chest racing violently again.

‘See no evil, see no evil!’

Flustered, he stuffed the coat into Mu Yao’s arms, his tone slightly rushed.

“Wear this. Don’t—don’t catch a cold!”

Then he prepared to shut the door. Just before it closed, he added:

“I’m fine, don’t worry! Next—next time, make sure your clothes are properly done up before coming over!”

Bang! The door slammed shut in front of Mu Yao. Mu Yao hadn’t even had the chance to say a single word throughout the entire exchange.

Mu Yao stared blankly at the door, holding the coat which carried a crisp, cool scent. It was dry—not the one Cheng Zeyì had been wearing today.

‘Wha—what is wrong with this guy? Is he sick? I came out of the goodness of my heart to check on his safety, and he pulls this routine to shut me out before I can even get a glimpse?!’

It took a long time for Mu Yao to recover from his bewilderment, and a surge of offended anger rose up. He marched back to his room and glared dismissively at the coat in his arms, unable to fathom the other man’s strange behavior.

However, one thing was certain: the man was lively and well, definitely not in any danger.

Back in his own room, he tossed Cheng Zeyì’s coat into a corner; he felt a spark of irritation just looking at it. He walked to the window and pulled back the curtains. Outside, the rain continued to fall, a blue-gray curtain shrouding the village as water slid down the tiles onto the flagstone path.

A few villagers were sheltering under the eaves of shops, whispering about something and occasionally shaking their heads with sighs. Outside his window, a clump of pitch-black Yin energy floated. Within the energy, red lines seemed to flow before dispersing after a moment.

“The presence of Yin energy means that red-clad girl really existed, it’s just that traces don’t linger well during the day… Who did she mean by ‘toys’? Me?”

Unable to figure out the ghost’s words, Mu Yao decided to set it aside for now. Confirming there was no sign of her outside, he closed the curtains and prepared to finish dressing.

When he saw his wide-open collar in the mirror, he froze for a second, reaching up to touch his barely-noticeable Adam’s apple.

“So he reacted so strongly because my clothes weren’t done up? Heh, he must really view me as a girl for that to happen. Well, I should thank his sense of gender boundaries and ‘see no evil’ virtues, otherwise I’d have been exposed.”

Thinking of Cheng Zeyì’s panicked state just now, Mu Yao suddenly laughed. Was this Movie King, who usually had such an imperial aura, actually this pure-hearted?

“How exactly does he collaborate with actresses to film so well? Is it just pure ‘belief’ in the role?”

He grumbled while finishing his dressing, recalling the makeup artists’ movements from the morning to adjust his clothes, wig, and silver ornaments. Once he was sure his appearance wouldn’t reveal his gender, he pulled the curtains back and moved the rattan chair to the window.

He opened the window a crack to feel the cold wind blowing in. Looking at the spot where the red-clad ghost had appeared, he thoughtfully stroked the necklace at his throat.

After an unknown amount of time, there was another knock on his door. Bi Tu’s voice came from outside.

“Xiao Mu, are you resting? Everyone, wait a moment while I call someone!”

‘Who is he talking to? A cameraman or…’

Mu Yao hadn’t intended to have much contact with Bi Tu, but hearing that something was up, he got up to open the door.

“Teacher Bi, is something the matter?”

Only Bi Tu was standing outside, holding a phone—it looked like he was livestreaming.

“Xiao Mu, the crew arranged free time for the afternoon, but we can’t go out in this rain. Why don’t we play a game in the lobby?”

“A game?”

“Yes, the King’s Game. Xiao Qu and the little champion both want to play. Are you coming?”

Bi Tu asked with a smile, giving Mu Yao the option to decline.

‘Heh, you’re literally holding a phone for a livestream. How could I refuse?’

Looking at the phone lens pointed at him, Mu Yao nodded in agreement.

Since Bi Tu still had to call Cheng Zeyì, Mu Yao went down to the first floor first. In the lobby, Qu Fu and Kong Yanfei had already changed into their own clothes and were chatting leisurely.

Mu Yao greeted them, and after a while, Bi Tu and Cheng Zeyì arrived on the first floor.

The King’s Game officially begins!