The Beautiful but Obscure Star Is Targeted by a Scheming Movie Star - Chapter 29

Gong Yingxiao stared at Tang Jingran’s angry expression for a few seconds and let out a sigh. He released the younger man’s chin, only to wrap a single arm around his lean waist and hoist him up onto the sink. He then pressed his body between Tang Jingran’s pale, sleek legs.

Tang Jingran was wearing a pair of white shorts with black trim that matched his top. Due to the movement, the shorts rolled up slightly, and the sudden contact of his warm thighs against the cold marble tiles made him shiver involuntarily.

Seeing this, Gong Yingxiao let out a short laugh. “Why are you wearing so little? Aren’t you cold?”

As he spoke, he reached out with his dry palm and tugged down the hem of the shorts that had rolled up.

Seeing that Tang Jingran remained silent, Gong Yingxiao reached out again to stroke the red scratch on the other man’s arm.

“How did your arm get hurt?”

Tang Jingran turned his head away, his gaze shifting elsewhere. “It’s none of your business.”

Gong Yingxiao’s dry, warm palm continued to stroke up and down, his eyes filled with distress. “Is someone bullying you?”

Tang Jingran’s eyelashes flickered slightly, his breath hitching for a moment. His voice was tight as he said, “It has nothing to do with you.”

“But it hurts me to see you injured.” Gong Yingxiao reached out and pinched his chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. He said with total sincerity, “I’m sorry.”

“I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that and made you sad.”

“I’ve asked you many times what happened, but you never tell me the reason. Perhaps you have your difficulties, but I don’t believe our relationship stops here. Since you won’t tell me the reason, I’ll just have to investigate it myself.”

It wasn’t that Gong Yingxiao hadn’t thought about why Tang Jingran suddenly disliked him, but there was too little information to go on. Occasionally, a thought would flicker in his mind, but it was hazy—like the grogginess of a nap in the afternoon; by the time he was fully awake, he couldn’t grasp it.

But regardless of the reason, he would find out, and he wouldn’t let the man go.

Who told him to barge into his life in the first place?

“Besides, you look too good; I don’t want you looking at anyone else.” Gong Yingxiao tilted Tang Jingran’s chin up, bringing him closer. “Mainly, though, you have a big problem yourself.”

Tang Jingran tried to swat away the hand holding his chin, but the other man only held on tighter. He eventually gave up. “What problem do I have?”

“The way your eyes inadvertently show a sense of longing when you look at me… it drives me crazy,” Gong Yingxiao said. “But it’s a good thing you showed that expression; it stopped me from doing some rather unpleasant things.”

Tang Jingran reached out suddenly, grabbed the other man’s tie, and yanked him forward with force. Caught off guard, Gong Yingxiao stumbled toward him.

Tang Jingran’s eyes were bright as he stared at him, a slight smile playing on his lips. “So, you’re saying it’s my fault?”

The distance between them was so small they could feel each other’s breath on their faces.

Gong Yingxiao didn’t pull away; instead, he followed the momentum and pressed his body closer.

“It’s my fault. My fault for not realizing sooner.” Gong Yingxiao’s voice was low, a dark light flickering in the depths of his eyes. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

Having said that, he leaned down and intimately rubbed the tip of his nose against Tang Jingran’s.

Almost the instant they touched, Tang Jingran pushed him away violently, his chest heaving.

After a few seconds of composing himself, Tang Jingran jumped down from the sink and straightened his clothes. He let out a scoffing laugh. “Don’t force your thoughts and assumptions onto others. I don’t care what you think; I truly don’t want to have any communication with you.”

“Was I clear enough this time?”

“You didn’t ask for my permission when you said you were tired of me,” Gong Yingxiao said, his hands in his pockets as he stopped a few paces away. “So, you do your thing, and I’ll do my chasing. Let’s call it even.”

Tang Jingran frowned at him. “Madman.”

Gong Yingxiao nodded good-naturedly. “There’s crazier to come.”

“Beautiful, let’s add each other on WeChat.” Liu Yefei took advantage of the fact that Gong Yingxiao was paying the bill in the distance to quickly hand his phone to Tang Jingran.

He had wanted to add his WeChat during dinner, but Gong Yingxiao kept interrupting.

Now that he was finally out of sight, it was the perfect time.

“I’ll invite you to see my performance when I have time.”

After staring at Liu Yefei’s smile for a few seconds, Tang Jingran finally took out his phone.

Beep.

Liu Yefei scanned Tang Jingran’s QR code. “You remember my name, right? Liu Yefei.”

“Liu as in willow, Ye as in leaf, Fei as in fly.”

Tang Jingran gave a polite smile. “Tang as in Great Tang, Jingran as in ‘the scenery of a foreign land remains the same.'”

“What a beautiful name.” Liu Yefei was typing in the contact alias with one hand when he caught sight of Gong Yingxiao walking over. He immediately threw an arm around Xue Kai’s shoulder.

“Bro, let’s add each other on WeChat too.”

The car’s taillights disappeared into the flow of traffic. Xue Kai stood there, restlessly watching Tang Jingran, who was hailing a ride.

The pale blue light of the screen illuminated his exquisite face, casting a small shadow at the corner of his eye.

“Three minutes away.” Tang Jingran put his phone in his pocket after booking the car. Noticing Xue Kai’s expression, he asked, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” Xue Kai snapped his gaze away and scratched his face, but his eyes still darted back toward him from time to time.

Seeing this, Tang Jingran didn’t push. He simply nodded and stood to the side.

Xue Kai: “…”

“You…”

“Here it is.” Tang Jingran saw the license plate and waved to the driver. Hearing a voice, he turned back. “What?”

“…Nothing, let’s just get in the car.”

As soon as Tang Jingran got in, he opened his phone to review tomorrow’s script. Sitting beside him, Xue Kai felt an itch in his heart; he couldn’t sit still.

Just as Xue Kai was about to adjust his position again, Tang Jingran spoke.

Tang Jingran: “If you can’t sit still, get out.”

Xue Kai: “…”

After another bout of scratching his head, Xue Kai looked at Tang Jingran, who was reading his script, and asked, “So, were you and Mr. Gong in the bathroom the whole time?”

When they first said they were going to the restroom, Xue Kai hadn’t thought much of it. But once he realized the time, he figured at least fifteen minutes had passed.

Why would two grown men need to spend that long in the bathroom?

Xue Kai saw Tang Jingran looking at him with that half-smiling expression again—the kind that made his scalp tingle.

“D-don’t look at me like that.”

Tang Jingran put away his phone and looked Xue Kai up and down. “Why are you so concerned?”

“Tsk, what? Is it wrong for friends to care about each other?” Xue Kai retorted indignantly.

“It’s nothing,” Tang Jingran said. “I’ve worked with Mr. Gong before, so we just chatted for a bit when we met.”

Seeing Tang Jingran’s serious face, Xue Kai slowly let go of his suspicions.

“Oh, I thought…”

Tang Jingran: “Thought what?”

“Tsk, nothing.” Xue Kai coughed and shifted his posture. “It’s just that the elders in my family have spoken with Mr. Gong a few times. Apparently, there’s a rumor that a daughter of a certain conglomerate is Mr. Gong’s fiancée. They say they’ll get married once Mr. Gong retires to the background or something.”

“But that’s just speculation from the elders. I’m just telling you.”

Tang Jingran stopped smiling, his lips thinning into a straight line. “Why are you telling me?”

“No reason, just sharing some gossip.” Xue Kai wanted to say more when he saw the other’s expression change.

“If it’s gossip, then it’s better left unsaid.” Tang Jingran stared straight ahead at the traffic. “Using baseless gimmicks to label someone, and then acting like it has nothing to do with you while hiding in the crowd.”

Xue Kai was momentarily stunned. “I haven’t told anyone else.”

Tang Jingran nodded.

He didn’t think Gong Yingxiao’s words earlier were meant to deceive him; there was no need for it.

The scene Tang Jingran had to film today was his first fight scene with the female lead involving wirework. He also needed to hold his partner, a small cat, while in the air.

“How is it? Too tight?” A staff member was tying the wire harness around Tang Jingran and asked if it felt okay.

“It’s fine.” Tang Jingran held the cat in one arm and tugged at the wires on his waist with the other.

Seeing that Tang Jingran was nervous, the staff member offered some comfort. “Don’t be scared. All our equipment undergoes safety checks before filming starts.”

Tang Jingran was indeed nervous; this was his first time doing wirework. Hearing the staff member’s reassurance, his anxiety lessened significantly.

“Thank you,” Tang Jingran said with a smile.

The staff member paused for a moment, then smiled back. “No problem, it’s what I should do.”

This actor was truly good-looking. He didn’t have any flashy makeup on, practically appearing as his natural self, and he was so polite.

In this industry, they met all sorts of people—those who acted like divas, looked down on others, or used their status to boss everyone around.

But this artist named Tang Jingran wasn’t like that. Although they hadn’t spent much time together, he always said thank you after asking for something and even shared snacks he brought.

The staff member felt a surge of goodwill toward Tang Jingran. “Call me if you have any problems.”

Tang Jingran nodded. “Okay.”

While the staff and director were finalizing the set, Tang Jingran crouched to the side holding the cat, going over lines and chatting with Jiang Jianxian.

“Jingran, is your arm okay?” Jiang Jianxian had been filming other scenes that day, but she had heard about the incident.

“I’m fine,” Tang Jingran said, stroking the kitten in his arms. “It just looks red; it doesn’t hurt.”

Jiang Jianxian sighed. “I’ve really seen everything now. I didn’t expect Qin Ze to have that side to him.”

Tang Jingran lowered his eyes. “Regardless of what others are like, as long as we do our best and have a clear conscience, we don’t need to care about what others think.”

“True.” Jiang Jianxian smiled. “The audience’s eyes are sharp.”

“But Jingran, be careful in the future. Come to us if anything happens.”

Knowing Jiang Jianxian meant well, Tang Jingran nodded. “Thank you, Sister Jiang.”

“It’s nothing.”

As they were talking, a commotion broke out not far away.

Tang Jingran raised an eyebrow. “What’s happening?”

Jiang Jianxian thought for a moment. “I think some of Qin Ze’s fans are visiting the set today.”

She shook her head. “Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Let’s just focus on our own scenes.”

The staff and director finished their preparations and came over to start the shoot.

“Action!”

As the command fell, Tang Jingran was suddenly pulled into the air to a height of about ten meters.

Mao Ling’s eyes were cold and arrogant. He stroked his primordial spirit cat and looked down disdainfully at the female lead, Fu Ling, on the ground.

“In all my life, I have loathed your sanctimonious immortal sects the most. You speak of benefiting the common people, yet you commit unspeakable deeds in the shadows.”

“Today, I shall teach you how to be human.”

With that, purple light flashed in Mao Ling’s hand, transforming into a long purple whip. With a fierce backward swing, countless rocks exploded with a thunderous boom!

He then dived rapidly toward the female lead.

“Wait, sir! Can you hear me out?” Fu Ling shouted at the charging Mao Ling.

But her answer was a sharp, biting lash of the whip.

Mao Ling: “Leave your explanations for those in the underworld.”

Seeing that negotiation was futile, Fu Ling had no choice but to draw her long sword to defend herself.

After a few exchanges, the surrounding ground was riddled with large craters.

Mao Ling flicked his long whip, a twisted smile spreading across his face. “I truly underestimated you.”

He proceeded to lash out with countless whip strikes in mid-air, leaving afterimages as they slammed toward his opponent.

Then, he dived again for a close-range attack.

Suddenly, Tang Jingran’s body swayed violently. One side of the waist cable snapped with a loud crack, and frantic screams erupted from below.

Immediately after, the cable on the other side also snapped. Before Tang Jingran could think, he instinctively curled his body to protect the kitten in his arms, letting himself fall heavily toward the ground.

The sharp, panicked cry of the cat rang in his ears.

Thud!

Tang Jingran was thrown onto some wooden crates several meters away. The moment he hit the ground, he heard the terrifying sound of his bones popping out of place, causing him to gasp in agony.

Before he could react, several figures holding things in their hands appeared in front of him.

“It’s him! He’s the one bullying our brother on set!”

“Teach him a lesson!”

“Who does he think he is!”

With those words, the people violently splashed the contents of their containers onto Tang Jingran.

Tang Jingran instinctively shielded his face, and immediately after, a searing, burning sensation spread across his arm.

He realized instantly what it was. Forcing himself through the pain, he stood up, grabbed a nearby wooden board, and knocked several of them to the ground.

Shouts and footsteps from the crew sounded from behind.

“Who are you, people?”

“How did you get in here?!”

“What is that in your hands?!”

Soon, one sharp headline after another climbed to the top of Weibo, exploding into a trending topic!