The Entire Entertainment Industry Knows the Best Actor Has a Crush on Me - Chapter 13

As the lunch break neared its end, Pei Yuan’s figure appeared at the entrance of the film set. At that moment, Qiao Zhiyu was curled up under a blanket, sleeping.

Pei Yuan didn’t make a sound to disturb him. He simply refilled Qiao Zhiyu’s nearly empty thermos with warm water before turning back to find the director.

Once the sound of footsteps faded, a fluffy head popped out from under the blanket. Qiao Zhiyu watched as Pei Yuan spoke with the director. Initially, the director seemed to disagree, his brow furrowed tightly. However, after Pei Yuan said a few more words, the director’s expression suddenly brightened, his eyes crinkling with joy.

“…”

“Push my scenes back a bit.”

“That won’t do!” The director’s entire being, down to every strand of hair, resisted the suggestion. “It burns money, Movie Star Pei! Our budget is very tight. Can you please not mess with this old man?”

“Twenty million,” Pei Yuan said casually. “I’ll invest twenty million. If there’s a shortage later, I can add more. Just push the scenes back.”

The director immediately beamed with joy and agreed.

“…”

Qiao Zhiyu flipped through the script in confusion, discovering that the scenes he was supposed to film with Pei Yuan that afternoon had been replaced with other content. He had just finished a scene and sat down to rest and organize his script.

How did this happen…?

Qiao Zhiyu suddenly remembered the conversation between Pei Yuan and the director during lunch. Did Pei Yuan ask to switch the scenes? Was it because he had too many NGs today and was dragging everyone down? Did Pei Yuan not want to film with him anymore? Or had he been too obvious, making the other man uncomfortable?

Qiao Zhiyu looked around but couldn’t find Pei Yuan. Did he go back to the hotel again?

He felt a sudden wave of dejection. He spent the entire afternoon preoccupied, though he remembered he was at work and didn’t let his personal emotions interfere with his acting like he did in the morning. Perhaps because the co-star scenes were removed, work wrapped up unusually early today.

By 9 PM, Qiao Zhiyu was back at the hotel. Upon opening the door, he saw Pei Yuan sitting on the sofa as expected. Pei Yuan proactively greeted him: “Good evening.”

Qiao Zhiyu nodded, placed the fruit box on the coffee table, grabbed his change of clothes from the suitcase, and headed into the bathroom.

Should I apologize? But what if he didn’t come to set just because he was busy with something else?

He stood under the shower, brooding as the hot water hit his body, causing a slight itchy sensation.

In the living room, Pei Yuan leaned against the armrest, propping his head on one hand and casually crossing his legs. He reached for the fruit box on the table, opened the lid, and ate the few remaining slightly withered grapes.

[Who just came in? Was it Little Chao? The voice didn’t sound right.] [So handsome, so handsome! Holy [expletive]! He’s really so handsome!!!] [Above, please don’t be so excited. This is a healthy, ‘green’ livestream room.]

That’s right Pei Yuan was livestreaming, and he had been for a while. The scene of him eating the withered grapes was caught clearly by the fans.

[? Brother, have you really fallen on hard times? You’re starting to eat withered grapes?] [Weren’t those grapes left by the person who just came in? Since when did you become this thrifty?] [It seems he really has hit a low point.]

Pei Yuan wiped his hands and looked at the screen to reply to the comments.

“Who came in? Teacher Qiao.” “We live together.”

The moment the fans heard that name, they lost their composure.

[Teacher Qiao? Qiao Zhiyu? You two are living together!!?] [So the grapes you just ate were Qiao Zhiyu’s leftovers?! I really can’t accept this! Why, why?!]

“Why so many whys? I wanted to eat them, so I did.”

[Why live with that wild man! How poor is this crew?! Sending our Brother there is just suffering!]

Pei Yuan frowned at that comment. He remembered that because Qiao Zhiyu’s leaked photo looked a bit like a certain “wild man” special effect, netizens had nicknamed him “The Wild Man.”

Pei Yuan disliked the name; attacking someone’s appearance is very impolite. He couldn’t control everyone, but he hoped his fans wouldn’t follow suit.

“I appreciate your concern for me, but please do not trample on others. Attacking people randomly is wrong; I firmly disapprove of it. I hope those who like me don’t do that.”

[I saw a leak online saying his acting is bad, he had many NGs, and eventually made you so angry you left. Is it true?]

“False,” Pei Yuan said without hesitation. “I believe NGs are normal; many factors can cause them. Furthermore, I left in the second half for personal reasons that have nothing to do with Teacher Qiao or anyone in the crew. His acting is very good, and he is very beautiful.”

The comments were flying by too fast to read. Pei Yuan lost interest. It was about time to end the stream. His manager had insisted he interact with fans, and he had been on for almost an hour.

“I have been screen-recording everything I’ve said. If anyone takes my words out of context to gain attention, I will contact you through legal channels. Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you have an online pseudonym. People must be responsible for what they say and do.”

As the comments surged, the bathroom door clicked open. Qiao Zhiyu emerged with slightly damp hair, wearing the same off-white cotton pajamas from yesterday. He stopped by the sofa.

“Yuan… you…”

He had been cheering himself up in his head. He didn’t actually know why Pei Yuan hadn’t filmed, but he didn’t want any rift between them.

“…”

Pei Yuan propped his head up and looked at the hesitant person before him. His plan to close the stream was replaced by other ideas. He scooted over and reached out to pull Qiao Zhiyu down to sit beside him. With that movement, a “beauty” with features as delicate as a painting appeared in the frame.

The comments section was instantly filled with question marks.

The scrape on Qiao Zhiyu’s palm had already healed, leaving only a slightly rough scab. He pursed his lips and didn’t withdraw his hand. His mind was entirely focused on Pei Yuan; he hadn’t noticed the phone on the table.

“Yuan… are you mad at me?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because…” He looked a bit flustered for a moment before saying, “Because I made you angry…”

Pei Yuan looked at him and let out a low laugh, intentionally asking: “Then tell me, how did you make me angry?”

“…”

Qiao Zhiyu choked on his words, his fingers picking at his pajama pants on his lap. “My state of mind wasn’t great today, and the director called ‘Cut’ several times…”

[See! His acting is bad! He admitted it himself! Why did Pei Yuan lie? What was he thinking when he went on strike?]

Pei Yuan caught that comment. He showed no reaction, simply continuing to rub Qiao Zhiyu’s palm.

“I hugged you yesterday. Did it make you uncomfortable?”

“No…”

[Wait?! Brother! What are you saying?!!] [Hug? Why the hug? What kind of movie are you guys filming?] [It’s getting hot… [expletive], what did Qiao Zhiyu put in the water?!] [Grass, Movie Star Pei is right who would believe that leaked photo? This guy is too good-looking. Is he a 3D model?] [Waaaah, I’m so guilty. I really believed it back then because I thought a real person looking that perfect was impossible…] [Can’t a real person have a 3D model face? Isn’t Pei Yuan the same?] [DO YOU GUYS REALLY NOT CARE ABOUT THE HUG?!!! Whose ‘ordinary hug’ gets this kind of reaction?!!!]

“Then you were just shy?”

Qiao Zhiyu didn’t want a rift, so he nodded. “Mm… because the clothes came undone… don’t be mad, it won’t happen next time…”

Pei Yuan pressed further: “You won’t be shy next time, or you won’t mess up your work?”

“…”

“I won’t mess up my work…”

Pei Yuan was delighted, the livestream comments were paralyzed, and Pei’s WeChat was being bombarded by his manager. The notification pings went off like a string of firecrackers. Qiao Zhiyu’s attention was finally drawn to the phone on the table.

Initially, he didn’t recognize it, a look of confusion on his face. When he finally realized what was happening, he turned red from head to toe, as if he’d been boiled.

“Ah…”

[AHHHH!!! [Expletive]! What are they saying?! I’m slapping myself on the bed just to stay calm!] [Wait… I came for the acting drama, why am I eating dog food (romance) now?] [Qiao Zhiyu means he won’t let it affect work, but he’ll still be shy because of Pei Yuan!!!] [Stop shipping! We solo fans don’t allow it!!! Firmly disagree!] [This ‘Wild Man’ did it on purpose! He knew Brother was streaming so he deliberately came over to say misleading things!!!] [But Pei Yuan could have turned the stream off? And he’s the one who asked those questions! Qiao Zhiyu clearly didn’t know about the stream, his face is completely red.]

“It’s okay, don’t be afraid. Do you want to say hi to everyone?” Pei Yuan comforted him softly. He knew this move was a bit rogue, but he couldn’t stand people talking about Qiao Zhiyu that way. Qiao was so good, so cute… “Why aren’t you speaking? Are you mad at me?”

Qiao Zhiyu shook his head stiffly. “What about you? Are you still mad at me…?”

Pei Yuan laughed helplessly and finally explained. “I was never mad at you. I didn’t film because I saw that you were uneasy because of me, and I didn’t want you to feel pressured. My absence wasn’t a strike or special treatment; it’s because I invested money and asked the director to push the scenes back.”

[Investing just to make a beauty smile?! OMG OMG, can I say it?] [I came for the drama, why is this stream full of pink bubbles?] [Just date already… otherwise it’ll be hard to end this without falling in love.]

Qiao Zhiyu sat up straight and waved at the screen. “Good evening, everyone… my name is Qiao Zhiyu…” He remembered he needed to say hi. Once done, he turned his head and stared straight at the man beside him.

Pei Yuan couldn’t help but laugh, finding the person before him increasingly adorable.

The livestream was a complete mess. The drama-seekers turned into shippers, the antis fought each other, and the solo fans protested in the comments. The stream shot straight into the top three of the trending list.

Meanwhile, Xu Hui sat on the toilet, nearly fainting, unable to face the chaos.