Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The scenes on the second day were the highlights, basically the climax of the movie.

The Eagle unit and the twins put aside their hostility and began to cooperate after seeing a small Z-country flag.

When the twelve people easily entered the civilian house from the wall, only to find the place eerily empty, everyone realized something was wrong.

“This is a Bagua formation.” Just as everyone found that no matter how they walked, they couldn’t get out, Cao Yang revealed the mystery.

Everyone turned to look at him. Cao Yang shrugged innocently, “I only know a little bit.”

After much effort, everyone finally escaped the formation, only to immediately face a hail of bullets. The few survivors accidentally fell into a basement during their escape. Here, they unexpectedly found the Z-country hostages held captive by the hostile organization.

“Did you see my father?” Cao Yang carefully looked over all the rescued hostages but didn’t find his father, Cao Hanliang. He asked the people present, but no one had seen his father.

The dramatic twist was that Cao Xi and Cao Yang discovered that the father they were trying to rescue was not their biological father but a man of H-country descent with one-half H-country blood—the main BOSS of this hijacking. His biggest goal in seizing the Z-country people was to leverage the friendly relations between the countries to demand that the H-country government exonerate his former politician father, who had died years ago.

Cao Hanliang held a gun to a hostage’s temple, threatening the H-country government to agree to his terms. Cao Yang persuaded the H-country representative not to harm Cao Hanliang easily, claiming he had a way to make him surrender. But in the end, the H-country forces went back on their word and shot Cao Hanliang while he was talking to Cao Yang.

Cao Yang held his father’s body and cried bitterly, vowing to fulfill his father’s last wish.

After Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun completed all their scenes, Zuo Qiu sat on the grass, disregarding his image, to rest.

“After shooting this scene, I suddenly miss my parents so much,” Zuo Qiu said, looking at the sunset on the horizon.

“Go back for a visit after we finish the next TV series,” Xiao Baijun suggested. Zuo Qiu had originally planned to go home and spend time with his parents once his two-month internship was over, but the sudden debut disrupted all subsequent plans.

Zuo Qiu seemed not to hear Xiao Baijun and asked again, “Why do you think there are so many unjust and wrongful cases in the world? Why are there so many innocent people who die?”

Xiao Baijun sensed that Zuo Qiu’s state was off but couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. He just offered a dry comfort: “Don’t think too much.”

“It’s probably for profit,” Ou Sheng’s voice came from behind the two.

The whole world is bustling for profit; the whole world is clamoring for gain. Just like Cao Hanliang’s father in the movie, whether he was in a high position or unjustly suffered a terrible death, it was all driven by self-interest.

Zuo Qiu turned back, his eyes vacant, and stared intently at Ou Sheng, like a lost child. “Then what can I do?”

“Just do your best.”

This was actually Ou Sheng’s consistent approach. The world was vast; he wasn’t Superman and couldn’t save everyone. All he could do was take care of himself and do what he could for others.

Zuo Qiu nodded slowly and then started gazing blankly at the sunset again.

Xiao Baijun didn’t know what to do with Zuo Qiu in this state. Although he was jealous that Ou Sheng was more eloquent than him, at this moment, other than appealing to Zuo Qiu’s idol, he didn’t know who else to ask. So, he questioned Ou Sheng with his eyes.

Ou Sheng said, “Let him watch for ten more minutes, then go back and get some sleep, and he’ll be fine.”

It turned out Ou Sheng’s words were correct. After a good night’s sleep, Zuo Qiu was full of energy again.

Because of his lapse in composure the day before, Zuo Qiu woke up early and found Ou Sheng having breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

“Brother Sheng, thank you for yesterday.” Zuo Qiu didn’t understand what had happened yesterday; simply seeing the movie’s “father” die in front of him made him project his own reality onto the scene. Just thinking about his own father lying there made Zuo Qiu’s heart ache to the point of death.

“It’s fine. You have little acting experience, so getting too deeply immersed is normal. Deep immersion also proves that you’ve fully integrated into the role, which is quite good,” Ou Sheng replied to Zuo Qiu while eating the spaghetti on his plate.

Zuo Qiu was very pleased to receive praise from his idol.

“But I suggest you read some psychological counseling books, just in case the same problem arises next time.”

Zuo Qiu took the advice seriously and noted it down.

Ou Sheng put down his fork. Seeing that Zuo Qiu remained seated, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

Zuo Qiu blushed, pulled a notebook from his embrace, and requested in a low voice, “Brother Sheng, you are my idol. Could you sign this for me?”

Ou Sheng moved the plate aside, took Zuo Qiu’s notebook, and quickly signed his name with a flourish.

“Is there anything else?” Ou Sheng asked again as he handed the notebook back to Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu shook his head.

“Alright, then it’s my turn to ask something,” Ou Sheng paused for a second, then asked Zuo Qiu, “I heard you’re an academic overachiever?”

Zuo Qiu rubbed his head awkwardly. “I guess so.” Since childhood, the one thing that had never defeated him was academics.

“Interested in being a slacker for once?”

“I want to film a movie based on my own personal experience, and are you interested in playing my high school self?”

Zuo Qiu, who frequently followed Ou Sheng’s Weibo, knew a little about his high school years, such as that he had a first love, and that first love wasn’t the current Cheng Ye.

“There are many reasons for choosing you to act, but the most important one is that your current state is very similar to mine during that period: you understand your difference but dare not follow your heart.”

These words shocked Zuo Qiu greatly. Had Big Boss Ou discovered his secret?

Ou Sheng looked at Zuo Qiu’s wide eyes, smiled, extended his hand, and said, “Hello, fellow soul.”

After Zuo Qiu left the restaurant with a heavy heart, Ou Sheng’s eyes slowly drifted towards a nearby seat where Xiao Baijun was sitting.

Xiao Baijun, seeing that his eavesdropping was discovered, was not embarrassed at all. He stood up, walked to the seat Zuo Qiu had just vacated, sat down, and directly asked Ou Sheng, “Do you still need a male lead for your movie? The kind that is a couple with Zuo Qiu.”

“It’s already cast.”

“Can’t you change it?” Xiao Baijun frowned. He could grudgingly accept Zuo Qiu playing a couple with a woman, as that was the general trend, and Zuo Qiu wouldn’t genuinely like a woman. But acting opposite a man—besides himself—he couldn’t accept anyone!

Ou Sheng picked up the milk on the table, took a sip, and remained silent.

Xiao Baijun understood his meaning and immediately offered a price. “I don’t need a salary.”

Ou Sheng smiled, clearly not caring about that little bit of pay.

Xiao Baijun gritted his teeth. “I will persuade my brother to help you secure the screening license.” Given the current situation in the country, almost all gay-themed movies couldn’t be released publicly, and Bogle, which had been in the entertainment industry for decades, had special channels in this regard.

Ou Sheng thought for a moment and said, “That bargaining chip is worth considering.”

Xiao Baijun breathed a sigh of relief.

Ou Sheng wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and patted Xiao Baijun on the shoulder.

“Haven’t you ever thought of being your own master?”

After walking a few steps, Ou Sheng turned back and said to Xiao Baijun, “Actually, you were the one I originally cast.”

Xiao Baijun, who was just thinking about whether he should go home and take over Bogle, instantly darkened. Damn it, does that idiot Zuo Qiu know that the idol he likes is an absolute schemer? If Zuo Qiu spends a few months alone with Ou Sheng, won’t he be completely sold out?