I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Spoiled and Arrogant

When Ji Xiuheng came to visit the set during the day, Zhou Mo was the one driving, giving off a somewhat business-like vibe. But now, inside the car, there were only the two actors seniors and juniors who still appeared slightly distant and polite when they were together earlier.

The windows were shut tight, and a faint fragrance drifted within the car. Embraced by the warm air, the slight chill on Xie Ci’s body was wrapped in heat. Ji Xiuheng sat in the driver’s seat, his expression focused on driving. Half of his side profile was illuminated by the passing glimmers of light on the road, revealing sharp, clear lines a textbook example of a handsome Chinese man.

Xie Ci’s fingertips fiddled aimlessly with his seatbelt, a secret sense of joy bubbling in his heart. Love is sometimes hard to detect, but favoritism is different; even the densest piece of wood can understand the weight of that distinction.

“Didn’t you leave?” Xie Ci turned his face away, looking at the city’s neon lights outside the window.

“Leave to where?” Sensing a hint of complaint in the youth’s tone like someone acting spoiled and arrogant Ji Xiuheng’s words carried a lazy trace of amusement.

“I don’t know. Anyway, you weren’t at the set. The moment I finished work, I couldn’t find you.” Xie Ci’s voice was a bit low. As he spoke, a brightly lit building appeared in view; a massive billboard featuring Ji Xiuheng was very prominent, clear even from a great distance. On the billboard, the watch on Ji Xiuheng’s wrist was resplendent, its dial inlaid with dense, shimmering diamonds. Following Ji Xiuheng’s action of raising his arm, it was frozen at the moment the man looked up with a light smile.

“There are too many eyes and ears on a set; there’s always someone who likes to think the worst of everything.” In his early days of stardom, Ji Xiuheng had heard too many baseless rumors and scandals. He didn’t want Xie Ci’s hard work to be wasted because of him, giving people a chance to gossip. Ji Xiuheng was here to pursue someone, not to harm them, let alone to demand repayment for favors. He didn’t need such tactics.

“…Oh.” Xie Ci understood the point of Ji Xiuheng’s concern. The disappointment of not finding him after work was completely smoothed over by the following sentence, and the corners of his lips curled up again.

Amidst the dense water vapor, the dark red corridor gradually extended into a private room with strict confidentiality.

“Don’t let yourself get too stuffy.” Ji Xiuheng leaned against one side of the spring pool, his expression relaxed as he spoke to Xie Ci with a smile.

In the pool, a layer of faint white mist floated over the milky-white water, making everything around feel damp. Xie Ci was entirely submerged under the surface on the other side of the pool like a snow-white lychee, his back turned as he leaned against the edge, leaving Ji Xiuheng with only a view of his back.

He was wearing the most conservative swimwear in the shop short sleeves and shorts revealing only his fair forearms and calves. Even so, Xie Ci had dawdled for a while when changing. It wasn’t because of shyness; they were two grown men, what was there to be embarrassed about? When Xie Ci traveled in the past, he had encountered a natural hot spring on a mountainside and had happily jumped in to splash around.

Xie Ci’s cheeks were steamed red, and he felt an indescribable awkwardness in his heart. “It’s not stuffy.” The room was spacious, and Xie Ci’s words were saturated with moisture.

The pool wasn’t deep, and the water temperature was slightly high. As Ji Xiuheng walked toward Xie Ci, he created ripple after ripple. The closer he got, the clearer the silhouette of Xie Ci’s back which he had seen on set during the day—became. Ji Xiuheng felt it was a pity; why wasn’t he the one applying medicine to Xie Ci’s back during the day? What a wasted opportunity.

In his peripheral vision, Xie Ci saw Ji Xiuheng walking toward him, and his gaze involuntarily drifted to Ji Xiuheng’s waist and abdomen. Ji Xiuheng wasn’t wearing a top, and at this moment, the beautiful contours of his abdominal muscles were clearly exposed the proportions were just right, neither exaggerated nor weak, firm and powerful. As Xie Ci watched, the memory of when Ji Xiuheng was sick at home some time ago instinctively surfaced in his mind.

With a splash, just as he was about to reach Xie Ci’s side, Ji Xiuheng’s body suddenly swayed. He abruptly lost his balance and fell backward uncontrollably. Xie Ci reacted instantly, moving forward two steps against the current. A fair, slender arm sliced into the water with extreme speed, encircling Ji Xiuheng’s lower back and using skillful force to pull the man who was half a head taller than him upright.

“Brother Ji, are you okay?” Xie Ci released his arm, his gaze anxious.

Ji Xiuheng leaned against Xie Ci’s shoulder, his face showing a perfectly timed look of lingering fear as he said the words he had planned: “I’m fine. Luckily you were right here.” He quietly narrowed the distance between himself and Xie Ci, his arm already pressed against the other’s warm skin. “I just didn’t stand firmly; thanks to you for catching me.”

Xie Ci was completely oblivious to the man’s little schemes. He even circled around to check him over, originally just intending to see if he was hurt anywhere, but as he looked, Xie Ci’s gaze involuntarily wandered to other parts of the man’s body.

It’s the first time I’ve seen it so clearly here…

“Xiao Ci?” Ji Xiuheng’s eyes were deep. He had discovered long ago that for someone like Xie Ci, who was oblivious to romance, one only needed to bring out the things he was most interested in to lure him bit by bit into his territory. Fortunately, he had everything Xie Ci liked, and what he didn’t have, he would eventually get.

Mindful of Xie Ci’s work, the two didn’t soak in the hot spring for long. After simply relaxing their tight and aching muscles, Ji Xiuheng returned him safely to the car, taking on the role of a qualified driver and heading toward the hotel where Xie Ci was staying.

“Film well. I’ll come see you again when there’s a chance.” Ji Xiuheng’s tone was very gentle, carrying the satisfaction of a wish fulfilled.

Xie Ci sat in the car, his face still flushed with heat from the hot spring. As Ji Xiuheng spoke his instructions, he also—with a sense of control that brooked no refusal put a scarf and hat he had picked out in advance on Xie Ci.

“Okay.” Xie Ci was very used to being wrapped up tightly by the man, his voice sounding muffled.

Seeing Ji Xiuheng about to get into the car, Xie Ci hesitated for a moment, then quickly gave him a hug, his arms firmly encircling Ji Xiuheng’s waist. He then took a large step back and turned to enter the hotel.

The car drove further and further away, gradually becoming a small black dot in his vision before finally merging into the distant night. Xie Ci stood in his hotel room, looking out through a gap in the curtains. He leaned closer to the window glass; outside were scattered points of light against a velvety, heavy dark background. When the tip of his nose touched the cold glass, he realized his face was terrifyingly hot.

So “heart pounding and face flushing”¹ in the Huangmei Opera performed on stage feels like this. Xie Ci lightly touched the window surface with his fingertip, scenes from the past flashing through his mind. No wonder the Seventh Fairy would rather have her bones stripped to be with her lover.

The news of Ji Xiuheng’s set visit was a hot topic among the crew for a while, but as the filming work became more intense, it gradually died down. Taking center stage as the topic of conversation were the two episodes of Han River Crossing aired each week.

“Saturday is almost here! I can’t imagine what a cheerful girl I’ll be, huddled in my blanket, ordering milk tea, and watching the two new episodes of Han River Crossing.” “Totally agree. My best friend wasn’t interested in watching dramas, but I dragged her to watch one episode, and she fell straight in. Now she sends me Wan Yuya stills every day.” “My mom too; she even called my grandma to watch it together…” “But in these few episodes, the second male lead is really bad, and his combat power is so high.

Every time I watch him kill people with a whip, my heart is in my mouth.” “Same… it’s the first time I’ve felt such a heavy sense of oppression from a whip, like a snake…” “By the way, in Episode 14, why did Wan Yuya block the arrow for the male lead? Why did the female lead touch the birthmark on Wan Yuya’s arm? Why?” “Damn, I feel the comment above. My brain crashes the moment I see complex plots.” “Friends who are curious about the plot can go to the forums; many fans are discussing the plot there.”

Besides the bullet comments on video platforms and various edited clips, threads specifically discussing the plot of Han River Crossing appeared one after another on the forum homepages proper hit drama treatment. Among them, besides plot discussions, the highest heat surrounded Xie Ci’s many martial arts scenes. One scene where Wan Yuya, under the Sixth Prince’s orders, went with the male lead to wipe out a nest of mountain bandits and killed people with a whip was specifically edited out, with likes surpassing a million.

In the video, Xie Ci wore a red official robe, his waist outlined very finely, and his ink-black long hair hung down his back, further highlighting Wan Yuya’s stunning beauty in the drama. The flexible whip was coiled around his arm, and the short black sandalwood handle seemed soaked in blood, greedily licking the owner’s fair fingers.

In the wide shot, Xie Ci’s back while sitting on the horse was exceptionally straight. The mountain bandits opposite were arrogant, unaware their end was near. Seeing that the court had sent such a beautiful man, they shouted boastfully: “A fair-skinned ‘little white face’ playing with a whip; in my view, it’s more like you’re for people to play with at home, hahahaha!” Before the words could land, the whip in Xie Ci’s hand had already, like a venomous snake, coiled around his neck.

Squelch— the sound of skin being sliced open by a sharp edge.

The mountain bandit’s arrogant laugh froze, and his gaze gradually went empty. Until his head fell from his body, he hadn’t figured out how that soul-snatching whip had coiled around his neck. In this plot, Xie Ci’s form was like a lotus or willow swaying in the wind. The whip was exceptionally obedient in his hands, like a flexible python, precisely hitting every pre-rehearsed spot. The composition was perfect to the extreme, and the movements were highly professional, far exceeding the range of what a crew’s martial arts instructor could teach.

This million-like video was edited by Zhou Tiantian. Since joining Xie Ci’s fan group, her marketing account had completely turned into a dedicated fan account, producing edited videos of Xie Ci almost every day. The heat had skyrocketed, and recently, with the drama reaching a key point, every video could break 100,000 likes.

Below this trending video, the comment section was even livelier, with passersby and fans mixed together. Without exception, everyone was stunned by Xie Ci’s martial arts scenes.

“Damn, this is CGI, right?” “Witnessing here: purely the actor’s real performance.” “I have a friend in the Han River Crossing crew; she said Xie Ci’s martial arts scenes are all done by himself. All the shots we can see are really filmed by him.” “What heavenly martial arts scenes. It’s the first time I’ve seen an actor use a whip as a weapon and use it so well!” “Just a passerby.

In college I was in a sports academy, and one of my roommates comes from a family of martial artists. He just came over and watched the video, and told me this actor has definitely practiced; his skills are no small feat, real martial arts.” “Actually, I want to say the quality of the second lead’s martial arts is really high.

I originally thought the male lead’s was already very brilliant; I can only say there’s no harm without comparison…” “To be honest, Xie Ci’s martial arts are visibly natural and smooth, and they’re all wide long-takes. The director really loves him too.” “So this is what it feels like not to be fooled; Xie Ci, I’ve fallen in love with you…”

After the four new episodes finished airing, the ruthless side of Wan Yuya had just begun to show, yet many viewers already had their hearts shattered. Their pure and kind young master was completely gone, never to return… Who understands this sorrow!

The second lead at this time shows weakness to the male lead to gain trust, acts with calculated flattery between the Sixth Prince and the Eldest Princess, and kills people without blinking in private. To clear the path for his master, the Sixth Prince, his hands were stained with the blood of countless people. In Episode 14, while Wan Yuya investigated the Dengwen Drum case with the male lead, he personally killed a witness who had volunteered to testify.

As soon as this plot came out, many fans cursed intensely while simultaneously being unable to resist being drawn to Wan Yuya’s charm in the drama. With love and hate intertwined, the popularity of this character had crushed all others, with discussion levels firmly in first place. More and more people waited under Xie Ci’s Weibo, urging him to update with professional photos.

The actor and the character complemented each other. Xie Ci’s martial arts scenes in the later stages formed a great contrast with Wan Yuya’s image upon his first appearance. The early stage attracted female fans, and the later stage attracted male fans a two-pronged approach. Even the typical “overpowered revenge” male lead arc was slightly overshadowed.

Other fanbases had protested, but the highest-status Qiao Mingyue said nothing and even specifically posted a dual still with Xie Ci. What a joke! If someone else had played the second lead, the broadcast might not have had this effect. The first clip to go viral from Han River Crossing was Xie Ci’s appearance in the rain.

Including the subsequent livestream promotion, it was Xie Ci who sent the crew to viral status. Director Ming Yang now looks at Xie Ci as if he were a lucky star; she has also successfully transitioned her image through the second female lead, so naturally, she wouldn’t look for trouble.

Li Zhaobai and Su Wu were no fools. Moreover, in the script given by Song Ling, they had their own highlight moments. That group of fans making a fuss under their names were likely paid internet trolls hired by a rival to sow discord.

On set.

Xie Ci sat in his dressing room chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Beside him, Xiao Ya looked at him with heartache; the prepared goji berry and lily soup in her hand had already gone cold. Seeing her standing, Xie Ci reached out to take the cup. “Give it to me, I’ll drink it now.” Knowing this daily health soup was a sign of Xiao Ya and Mo Li’s care for him, Xie Ci never refused and would finish it every time.

“It’s already cold, let’s skip it today.” Xiao Ya didn’t hand over the cup, instead standing by Xie Ci to help him change out of his increasingly heavy costume so he could return to the hotel to rest.

Sitting in the car with the air conditioning turned on in advance, Xie Ci let out a long breath. He was just about to open his phone to reply to the message Ji Xiuheng sent during the day when he was interrupted by a pop-up from an unknown number. Xie Ci’s eyes showed a flicker of doubt, but he answered the call anyway.

“Hello, who is this?” Xie Ci’s voice carried a bit of fatigue.

The raspy male voice on the other end was both familiar and strange, unprovokedly giving off a feeling of madness and coldness, inexplicably calling up a memory of the original owner in Xie Ci’s mind.

“Little brat, you’ve become a big star, you’re rich, and you’ve forgotten the poor home in the countryside?”

Xie Ci’s brows furrowed. He looked at the location the phone number belonged to.

Y Province.

The “home” that the original owner, after reaching adulthood, had never thought of returning to despite countless difficulties.

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