I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Oblivious to Romance

 

Chili Sandwich: “I feel like Xiao Ci’s complexion has gotten so much better in the Han River Crossing behind-the-scenes clips! He looks so different from the slightly sickly look he had back in Diving Abyss!”

 

As soon as this message was sent, people in the group immediately followed up.

 

Savory Pork Slices: “I took a sneak peek photo of Xiao Xie Ci once on the set of Diving Abyss. The kid looked so thin! Although he was beautiful (drools), as a ‘Mommy Fan,’ my heart truly aches for him!”

 

The fan named Chili Sandwich replied again: “There were some leaked photos of Xiao Xie Ci exercising on set. I really want to know his workout methods. My mom has always been worried about my health, sigh.”

 

Most of the group consisted of warm-hearted young girls. Seeing Chili Sandwich’s dejected tone, they began to offer comfort.

 

Due to a long period of inactivity, Xiao Ya’s phone screen went black with a soft “snap.”

 

Xie Ci snapped out of his thoughts, pondered for a moment, and asked, “Xiao Ya, is there a fan in this group who isn’t in very good health?”

 

“Why the sudden question?” Li Yajun listened to him, and it took a moment for her to react. “I remember there’s a fan who’s very good at video editing; she mentioned in the group that she’s been in poor health since she was a child.”

 

Xiao Ya looked at Xie Ci’s slightly furrowed brows and opened her phone. “Here, it’s this ‘Chili Sandwich.’ Several of the top-rated videos on the support club account were edited by her.”

 

The reason she remembered this netizen was that the two of them occasionally shared editing materials. Over time, they had learned a bit about each other’s situations.

 

Xie Ci tucked in his tattered ancient costume sleeves, an idea forming in his mind.

 

“Teacher Xie! We’re about to start filming over here. Could you come and adjust your styling?” The crew’s makeup artist walked over, striking up a conversation with a smile.

 

Xie Ci agreed and followed her to the dressing room to adjust his look.

 

As the second male lead, he now had his own dedicated dressing room and makeup artist. He no longer needed to squeeze into the public dressing room with the majority of the actors.

 

He didn’t have many scenes today mostly a few segments of being humiliated in prison. Thus, he had specifically changed into tattered clothing, and his fair face was smeared with gray grime. He looked like a pearl fallen into the mire, exceptionally moving.

 

The scriptwriter of Han River Crossing had paid great attention to the logic of character transformation when writing, making the personas of several important characters vivid and full.

 

The more weak and pitiful the second lead Wan Yuya was in the early stages, the more his later ruthlessness and hatefulness would leave a deep impression on the audience.

 

Song Ling understood the audience’s inner thoughts perfectly. After visiting the set a few times and seeing Xie Ci’s portrayal, she was struck by inspiration and even added a special scene for Xie Ci and Yan Feng today.

 

Under the lens, Wan Yuya frightened by the respectful movements of the jailers looked tense, following the guide without daring to resist in the slightest.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Wan Yuya was “invited” into a dimly lit cell.

 

This scene was shot in a studio. The lighting technician deliberately focused the main light on two thick iron rings on a prop wall. The large areas of shadow in the scene made the atmosphere feel even more oppressive.

 

The Sixth Prince, played by Yan Feng, stood quietly in the shadows. His already sharp facial lines appeared even deeper. On the ground, Wan Yuya knelt with a pale face; under the close-up lens, even his eyelashes were trembling slightly.

 

“Sit up there,” the Sixth Prince pointed.

 

The two iron rings on the wall were originally meant to fix chains to lock a prisoner’s shoulder blades, but now they were connected to a simple swing. Faint traces of old, dark-red blood still lingered at the very top.

 

Wan Yuya didn’t dare resist. During these days, members of the Wan family were taken out for interrogation from time to time, and most never returned. This “young master,” who had been raised to be useless and ignored by his father and brother, had nothing left but pure terror.

 

With a “thud,” Wan Yuya his legs weak from fear stood up only to fall heavily again. However, he didn’t dare delay at all, hurriedly scrambling to sit on the wooden board of the swing set.

 

A dark glint flashed in Yan Feng’s eyes, and a playful arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

 

Li Yajun, standing off-field, was already dazed.

 

The scene added today was very short, mainly to depict the early contact between the second and third male leads and the malicious undertones of the third lead’s persona, while also paving the way for the second lead’s later defection to the third lead’s camp.

 

Filming finished before dusk. Mo Li took Xiao Ya to the production supervisor to handle simple personnel registration, obtaining a confidentiality brochure and an entry pass.

 

“Once we get to the hotel, I’ll book a room for you first,” Mo Li said to Li Yajun in the back seat while driving.

 

He and Xie Ci were both men; it didn’t matter if they stayed in a hotel suite, but Xiao Ya was a girl, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to live with them. Plus, Xie Ci had now received his pay for Han River Crossing. After deducting the studio’s cut, quite a bit remained; he was no longer in his penniless days.

 

“Exactly, book a deluxe suite.” Calculating his current small gold vault, Xie Ci waved his hand generously from the passenger seat, not mistreating his own people at all.

 

If he had a bite of meat, his companions would have a bite too! Xie Ci patted his chest in his heart, feeling full of heroic chivalry.

 

“Great! Don’t forget us when you’re rich. You’re so loyal!”

 

The three of them chatted all the way, arriving shortly at the hotel booked by the crew.

 

“Xiao Ci, what do you want to eat tonight?” Mo Li lay on the sofa, lazily scrolling through a food delivery app on his phone.

 

Xie Ci was typing: “Brother Ji said he ordered a meal for me the same restaurant where we had dinner with Director Zhang and the others.”

 

Mo Li sat up from the sofa like a “carp flipping over.” “Ji Xiuheng ordered a meal for you?!”

 

Xie Ci gave Mo Li a disapproving look. “He is a senior; you should call him Teacher Ji.”

 

Mo Li gritted his teeth. Still calling him Teacher Ji, Teacher Ji.

 

The man was sending food, but what he wanted was the person.

 

It was just that Xie Ci didn’t seem to have that “string” in his brain. Instead, Mo Li was the one being timid, not daring to poke through that layer of window paper. After all, the other party had been in the circle for years, lacking neither money nor resources, and had even started his own behind-the-scenes capital ventures. If things turned unpleasant, with their meager weight, they wouldn’t survive a single wave of his hand.

 

Mo Li looked at his friend, who was typing and smiling until his dimples showed, and let out a helpless sigh.

 

Fine, looking at this posture, the two of them are probably getting along quite happily.

 

Xie Ci looked at the chat box, scrolled through his photo album, and sent the sunrise photo he took this morning.

 

“Brother Ji, a photo of the sunrise from this morning.”

 

Since learning to use the phone’s camera function, Xie Ci’s album was stuffed with various photos. He’d take a photo if he saw a cloud, or if he saw a fallen leaf. From time to time, he’d excitedly drag Mo Li to share the “spoils” of his photo album.

 

Despite being familiar with most things in this world, Xie Ci still acted like a curious baby when he encountered high-tech equipment, constantly trying things out.

 

Ji Xiuheng sat in his car, looked at the photo Xie Ci sent, and offered some very supportive praise.

 

“The sunrise is well-captured. It was taken on set, right?” With a quick glance at the architecture in the corner of the photo, he guessed Xie Ci took it while waiting for a scene at the filming base.

 

“Yes, I took it casually while waiting for a scene this morning.”

 

He followed up with a grateful kitten emoji, which instinctively made Ji Xiuheng think of Xie Ci’s cat-like eyes. Moist and trusting when they looked over very beautiful.

 

His heart felt a bit itchy, so he sent back a sunrise photo he had taken at home when he was bored. Ji Xiuheng’s house had a great view—a river-view apartment. When the sun came out in the morning, it reflected golden light across the entire river, looking like shimmering waves of fine gold silk spread across the water.

 

“There are too many buildings over there, the view isn’t great. If you have the chance, come take photos at my place; the view here is much better.”

 

As he expected, Xie Ci, who was currently interested in photography, had his eyes light up.

 

A few minutes later, Xie Ci replied: “I live on a higher floor; would the view be even better?”

 

He asked purely, but on the other end, Ji Xiuheng’s temple throbbed.

 

After a long while, the phone replied: “They all face the same direction; the view should be good too.”

 

A knock came from the door. Mo Li, wearing disposable slippers, went to open it. It was the hotel’s dedicated delivery staff. Mo Li took the food container and thanked them with a smile.

 

Xie Ci excitedly took another photo and sent it to Ji Xiuheng.

 

“Eat well, and stay healthy on set.” Ji Xiuheng’s reply came quickly, but those last few words felt a bit stiff. It was very different from his usual gentle and patient style almost as if… he were having a little tantrum.

 

When the container was opened, the dishes emitted a burst of fragrance. The Osmanthus Pork in the middle was still steaming.

 

Xie Ci waited for a long time but didn’t get another reply, feeling a bit empty in his heart.

 

“What are you waiting for? Come eat, come eat!” Mo Li opened the packaging and called Xie Ci over.

 

Xie Ci put down his phone and thought of Xiao Ya next door. “Brother Ji ordered so much; the two of us can’t finish it. Ask Xiao Ya if she wants to come.”

 

“You’re the thoughtful one. I’ll message her now.” Mo Li chuckled, struggling to escape the temptation of the delicious food.

 

Within minutes, Li Yajun came over from the next room, smiling as she said, “Employee benefits are good! This delivery is way too rich.”

 

On the table in the hotel suite, five or six dishes were laid out fully, along with several exquisite desserts. There was barely enough room for them to eat.

 

Mo Li handed the separated chopsticks to Xie Ci and grunted twice: “Movie King Ji ordered it specifically to take care of our Xiao Ci.”

 

His tone was a bit sour, but he couldn’t express it, so he could only look at Xie Ci with wide eyes.

 

Xie Ci’s eyes were fixed on the dishes. Li Yajun, however, scrutinized Mo Li suspiciously before her eyes suddenly widened.

 

!!! “Is it the ‘Movie King Ji’ I’m thinking of?!”

 

Xie Ci opened his rice container and replied with a smile: “Yes, we met on the set of Diving Abyss. He’s a very good senior.”

 

The “very good senior” was currently sitting in the back seat of his car. Zhou Mo, driving in front, could feel the low pressure emanating from him and groaned inwardly.

 

Who provoked this ancestor again? He was smiling like it was springtime a moment ago, and then his face changed instantly.

 

Zhou Mo stayed honest and shrunk back while driving. Thinking of his annual salary, he suddenly felt that the Ji Xiuheng in the back seat looked handsome again.

 

Men die for wealth, birds die for food…

 

As soon as the car door opened, the Ji Xiuheng in the suit wore his standard gentleman’s smile again. Zhou Mo knew Ji Xiuheng was meeting an investor with Zhang Yunjiang to discuss the post-production marketing and distribution of Diving Abyss, and he followed dutifully.

 

While eating, Xie Ci thought about “Chili Sandwich” from time to time, and that idea popped up again.

 

After the meal, he thought it over and spoke up: “I plan to share my methods for exercising and strengthening the body. What do you guys think?”

 

Xiao Ya quickly realized why Xie Ci wanted to do this and nodded with a complex look. “It’s feasible, but the method of sharing needs to be carefully planned.”

 

She had managed many 18th-tier stars at her previous company, and there were no small number of people who liked to cause trouble by posting nonsense. Some wanted to make quick money by taking a bunch of low-quality product endorsements to give to fans, while others had low EQ and posted things that annoyed or drove away fans. Since before joining, she had been following Xie Ci’s account and the fan situation, knowing that the fans wanted Xie Ci to post more “business” updates.

 

Therefore, Xiao Ya agreed with his idea.

 

Mo Li took a sip of water, hesitation on his face. “It really needs a good plan. If not handled well, it’ll be a thankless task.”

 

The three discussed for a while and finally decided to be conservative: they would only share the gentlest methods Xie Ci used for daily exercise, and later add detailed notes and sources.

 

“Leave it to me! I guarantee it’ll be foolproof!” Li Yajun was an expert at video editing. Coupled with Xie Ci’s step-by-step explanations, she accepted the task with full confidence.

 

At 10:00 PM, after communicating with the crew’s promotion staff, Xie Ci’s account posted a unique “business” video: “A small exercise share from Wan Yuya,” followed by the Han River Crossing crew tag.

 

As soon as the video was posted, the large wave of Xie Ci’s new fans caught the scent and swarmed the comment section.

 

Ji Xiuheng sat in the back seat, the fatigue after the dinner party surging up. Seeing his phone screen light up, he clicked in and found it was a new Weibo post from Xie Ci.

 

His thick dark brows rose slightly, and the man casually gave it a “Like.”

 

Xiao Ya was still happily admiring her handiwork when she saw the sea of new notifications. She suddenly grabbed Mo Li beside her.

 

“Movie King Ji seems to have… had a slip of the finger?”