The Vicious Cannon Fodder Despised by Everyone Really Doesn't Want to Go Viral - Chapter 47

“Lin Zhiyu, you are really something. One moment you promise me not to provoke Jiang Yubai, and the next you turn around and provoke Mu Yunji, is that it?”

Chen Chen gripped the phone, feeling somewhat at a loss.

On the other end of the line, Xu Dongdong was still rambling and scolding him. “Provoking one of them was not enough for you? You had to go and collect the whole set? Do you think I am not busy enough?”

Chen Chen stammered for a moment before finally shouting, “Brother Xu, it is me.”

Xu Dongdong’s voice paused. He asked impatiently, “Why is it you? What is Lin Zhiyu doing?”

“He is filming a commercial. He is already underwater for the fifth take.” Chen Chen lowered his voice, his eyes involuntarily glancing toward the studio.

In the middle of the freezing winter, the faint steam from the warm pool turned into a thin mist. Lin Zhiyu wore a shirt made of translucent fabric that clung wetly to his body, making his already lean figure appear even more fragile.

The director shouted “Cut,” and the staff rushed over to hand him a bath towel.

Lin Zhiyu covered his mouth and coughed a few times. His face looked somewhat pale. Chen Chen felt a pang of sympathy, especially when contrasted with Xu Dongdong’s heartless questioning on the phone. The anger in his heart flared up instantly.

No longer holding back, Chen Chen said directly to Xu Dongdong, “It is freezing out. Even if the water is warm, he has had tonsillitis for the past few days. His body cannot hold out much longer, and he still has other schedules later.”

Xu Dongdong’s tone sank. “He finally has some traffic now. Do you think you can just stop a high paying commercial like this whenever you want?”

Chen Chen grit his teeth, a sense of defiance rising in him. “But the schedule for the past few days has been far too full. He filmed until three in the morning yesterday, left at six this evening, and has to fly to B City for a roadshow tomorrow. Even if a person is made of iron, they cannot withstand this kind of exhaustion.”

“Exhaustion?” Xu Dongdong sneered. “He is in his prime earning period right now. A full schedule is a good thing because many people would beg for this. You want him to take fewer orders? Do you not want to earn this money anymore?”

“Every artist under me has gone through this. I only avoided giving him so much work before because of his young master temper. Did you really think this industry was that easy to survive in?”

Listening to Xu Dongdong’s monotone mockery, Chen Chen was left speechless.

“Fine. Since he is filming the commercial, I will stop for now. Tell him I will settle the score regarding Mu Yunji with him later!”

Chen Chen did not know what to say, but he rolled his eyes indignantly. After hanging up, his hands and feet felt chilled by the cold wind outside the studio.

He opened Weibo and discovered that the news of them having dinner with Mu Yunji had already hit the trending topics. This time, it was not the work of marketing accounts or paparazzi, but rather an accidental appearance in the background of a food vlogger’s video during checkout.

Even though Lin Zhiyu and Mu Yunji had been fully disguised that night, eagle eyed fans spotted the two individuals whose aura was completely out of place with the passersby. At first, neither side’s fans believed it, each being more stubborn than the last as they tried to find features that differed from their idols to disprove it. However, the more they dug, the more evidence they found. The fact that the two had eaten dinner together became ironclad.

Consequently, it exploded onto the trending charts.

The comments section was filled with everything from “Lin Zhiyu’s persistence finally paid off” and “Even Mu Yunji could not escape the law of attraction?” to “Lin Zhiyu’s fans should have some shame. You can imagine so much just from a dinner together. Have you truly forgotten how everyone used to despise your idol?”

However, Mu Yunji’s side soon released a Weibo statement, declaring that it was purely for work purposes. Lin Zhiyu had treated him to dinner as a thank you for Mu Yunji’s help. The guests present that night included, but were not limited to, Mu Yunji, Lin Zhiyu, their assistants, and the traitorous golden retriever, Dabing.

They even posted a photo of the barbecue shop owner affectionately holding Dabing. The comments section immediately veered off into a strange direction.

Lin Zhiyu and Chen Chen were unaware of these storms. Since that day, Lin Zhiyu had been as busy as a spinning top with his schedule packed from morning to night.

During a rare break, he leaned against the car seat and complained to Chen Chen, “Those who do not know better would think I am a dying ox in a field, and my master is trying to squeeze every last drop of value out of me while I still have a breath left.”

At the time, Chen Chen had comforted him, saying he was being too pessimistic. But remembering Xu Dongdong’s phone call just now, he suddenly felt that Lin Zhiyu’s words actually made quite a bit of sense.

He had finally regained a bit of his reputation thanks to the popularity of The Blue Bird, and Xu Dongdong was determined to make the most of it by earning every cent possible through him.

The filming site for the commercial was arranged like a dream. Cold white and warm yellow lights alternated, dividing the room into two distinct sections. A massive glass tabletop was placed in the center of the pool with mist surrounding the brilliant spots of light reflected on the surface.

The air was filled with a light, fresh citrus scent. It was a specially formulated perfume that added an immersive atmosphere to the shoot.

Lin Zhiyu sat on the glass tabletop in the pool while the water at his feet rippled gently. He wore a designer white shirt with a few buttons open at the chest, revealing his delicate collarbones and porcelain white chest. Through the fabric clinging to his upper body, a faint pink tint was barely visible.

His hair had been wetted beforehand, and water droplets hung from the tips, sliding down his face and dripping into the water while creating tiny ripples.

The director stood before the monitor, eyes fixed on the screen, and directed through the intercom, “Teacher Lin, this take is crucial. Your eyes need to tell a story. It is not a forced sexiness but a cold, restrained detachment that is inadvertently alluring and elusive, just like the scent of this perfume.”

Lin Zhiyu’s mind was filled with the thought that he wanted a colorful black. Indeed, the requirements of clients in any world could be spectacularly bizarre.

He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. His throat stung slightly from the tonsillitis, and his head felt a bit dizzy from the steam of the warm water. He skillfully pushed this discomfort deep into his body, showing no trace of fatigue on his face.

“Come on, add more mist, make the lights softer. Teacher Lin, turn your head slowly, lift your left fingertip slightly, and let the water droplets slide down!”

Following the director’s instructions, the staff quickly began adjusting the effects on set.

Lin Zhiyu turned his head slowly, his gaze lowered. His somewhat cold face appeared more three dimensional under the contouring of the lights. He lifted his left hand as if unintentionally, and the water droplets on the back of his hand dripped onto the glass table, sliding down the tilted surface into the water.

The director’s voice came again: “Great, that is the feeling! Hold it! Now for the line. Slower and softer, make the audience feel like this is your most secret confession.”

Lin Zhiyu parted his lips slightly. Beneath his lifted eyelids were a pair of deep yet distant eyes, and his clear voice echoed through the venue.

“Distance is the most lethal attraction.”

Standing off camera, Chen Chen looked at the filming schedule on his phone while his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He watched every one of Lin Zhiyu’s movements, knowing full well that this state was maintained entirely through sheer willpower.

Lin Zhiyu’s throat had felt uncomfortable the day after they ate barbecue. Initially, they thought it was just a simple case of internal heat, and with the full schedule, they had not had time to go to the hospital. As a result, Lin Zhiyu had been suffering for several days without getting better. Yesterday, he filmed at the seaside all day, blowing in the cold wind without even a moment to catch his breath.

Not to mention the underwater filming today. Not even a donkey in a production brigade was worked this hard.

“OK, this take was great! Teacher Lin, let us do a few more. Make the mist thicker, and this time add some splashes. Teacher Lin, in a moment, sink slowly into the water. Just look at the camera at the last second with a hint of longing in your eyes.”

Lin Zhiyu nodded. His throat felt as if it were stuck together with glue, and he did not even want to open his mouth to speak.

He bit onto the gardenia flower handed to him by the staff and slowly sank into the water. As his body was completely submerged in the warm water, his pores seemed to open. The gentle movement of the water washed over his clouded consciousness.

Lin Zhiyu bit his tongue repeatedly to force himself to stay awake. As the director shouted “Action,” the underwater camera started.

Lin Zhiyu slowly opened his eyes while the water stung them like needles. His eyelashes trembled as he looked upward through the water, as if searching for something through layers of mist. His long hair drifted in the current, and his movements were as fluid as if they had been rehearsed countless times. A few seconds later, a pale hand rose from the water and grasped the perfume bottle floating on the glass tabletop.

The camera zoomed in on the perfume bottle, and the irregular shape of the glass surface refracted variegated light. Lin Zhiyu’s face appeared blurred behind the bottle, gradually becoming clear as the shot lengthened. The gardenia he had been biting slid from his lips and landed perfectly on his collar.

“Cut!” the director shouted excitedly. “This take is perfect! Great job, Teacher Lin!”

The staff sighed in relief and immediately stepped forward to help Lin Zhiyu up. Chen Chen rushed over and wrapped the bath towel he had prepared around Lin Zhiyu’s body.

Lin Zhiyu rubbed his aching eyes. When he opened them, his gaze was dazed for a moment before slowly focusing on Chen Chen’s face. He had been wondering why his talkative assistant was so unusually quiet today. The next second, he saw the hesitant expression on Chen Chen’s face.

He asked, “What is it? Do you have something to tell me?”

Chen Chen did not want to ruin his mood, but he could not hold it in. After hesitating for a long time, he said, “Xu Dongdong called just now. He said the news of us eating with Mu Yunji is trending. I checked, and Mu Yunji’s side has already mostly handled it, so we probably do not need to do anything. However,”

“Mhm?”

“Xu Dongdong wants you to call him back.”

Lin Zhiyu let out a low laugh and leaned on Chen Chen’s shoulder. For some reason, his breath was scorching hot, making Chen Chen startle.

He said, “He can go to hell for all I care.”

But after a thought, he said somewhat gloomily, “Wait, that is not right. At this rate, I will be the one who dies first.”

The warm sensation faded from his skin, and as the cold wind blew, Lin Zhiyu’s face turned as pale as paper. Yet he still curled his lips, saying mockingly, “But I bet even if I drop dead on set, Xu Dongdong will drag my corpse to the next event.”

“Bite your tongue!” Chen Chen scolded while helping him toward the dressing room. “No way. Even if we die, we have to drag the people who deserve to die down with us!”

Lin Zhiyu leaned on Chen Chen’s shoulder and let out a scoff. He did not reply, but simply nodded and lazily gave Chen Chen a thumbs up. Then he closed his eyes, appearing too exhausted to even think.

Because of this, he did not see that on the phone Chen Chen returned to him, there was a new WeChat message.