DP Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Xu Chuo was stunned for a moment, then smiled and teased, “So what? Are you going to arrest me, officer? You sound just like my grandma… No, even my grandma doesn’t care what I wear, you’re worse than my grandma.”

Xiang Yiye was completely numb, vowing to never be nosy again. In his previous life, because of their relationship, Xu Chuo would at least pretend to listen a few times. But not this time, he immediately ridiculed him and even tried to claim seniority.

Han Fangyan had just finished filming a single shot. When he looked up and saw Xu Chuo smiling and chatting with someone, his face instantly darkened.

Xiang Yiye, seeing Han Fangyan’s expression, knew things were going to be difficult again. Ever since the incident with the glasses a month ago—no, ever since their first meeting—Han Fangyan had never given him a pleasant look, frequently engaging in petty acts of exclusion.

Fortunately, from the start of filming until now, most of their scenes involved arguments. Their clashes during filming were so natural, without a trace of acting, that they didn’t affect the normal progress of the shoot. He wondered if Han Fangyan could maintain his composure and embrace peace and love when they filmed the scenes of reconciliation in a few days.

After taking off his coat, he entered the basketball court, and filming officially began. Han Fangyan dribbled the ball into the defense zone, jumping for a shot, while Xiang Yiye stood opposite him, guarding closely.

According to the original plan, Han Fangyan only needed to pretend to lose control of the ball at this point. It didn’t matter if he made the shot or not. But for some reason, he refused to give up, dribbling around again and jumping for another shot.

He attacked too aggressively. Before Xiang Yiye could even extend his arm, he was suddenly hit in the jaw and tripped. Losing his balance, he felt a tearing pain in his ankle as he landed, falling to the ground.

Han Fangyan was stunned for a moment, reaching out to help him up. “Are you okay?”

The director immediately yelled “Cut!” and asked, “Little Xiang, are you alright? Can you stand up?” Other actors and some staff members also gathered around.

Supporting himself on Han Fangyan’s hand, Xiang Yiye tried to stand up, but failed. He shook his head at the director, then his gaze passed through the crowd, glancing at Xu Chuo.

Xu Chuo was clearly paying close attention as well, his expression unreadable. Who was he worried about? Xiang Yiye wondered.

The director opened the walkie-talkie: “Call the medical team to the gymnasium. An actor is injured. Call the medical team…”

While waiting for the medical team to arrive, Xiang Yiye was helped to a chair. Han Fangyan originally wanted to express his concern and say it wasn’t intentional, but when Xu Chuo approached with an unfinished iced drink and handed it to Xiang Yiye, he swallowed his words.

“You probably sprained it. You need to ice it within 48 hours, try this,” Xu Chuo said.

Xiang Yiye didn’t take it. Han Fangyan said sourly, “Better wait for the medical team to check it out first. What if it gets worse…”

Xu Chuo glanced at him, and Han Fangyan immediately fell silent. From Xu Chuo’s expression, he sensed that the other man seemed to be blaming him. Even though Xu Chuo hadn’t even frowned, Han Fangyan inexplicably felt like he was being blamed.

Han Fangyan couldn’t stand it anymore. He snatched the drink from Xu Chuo’s hand, squatted down, and pressed it against Xiang Yiye’s injured ankle without explanation.

Xiang Yiye hissed, not from the pain, but because Han Fangyan was holding the drink at the wrong angle, and the iced liquid leaked out from the lid, wetting his pants and sending a chill through him.

Seeing this, Xu Chuo took the drink away and patted Han Fangyan’s head, calmly saying, “Don’t be silly, he’s injured.”

“What’s the big deal about a little injury? He’s not dead! Why are you so concerned about him?”

“Han Fangyan,” Xiang Yiye finally spoke, taking a blanket and covering his exposed calf. “There’s something I want to make clear. Someone caring about another person might just be because they’re kind… To put it bluntly, if anyone else had been injured today, I think your friend would have done the same. If you have to interpret it as something else, then you’re just being narrow-minded.”

“Me, narrow-minded?” Han Fangyan laughed angrily. “Who do you think you are? A lucky amateur, a half-baked actor, what right do you have to lecture me?”

“I’m nobody, just a colleague,” Xiang Yiye said calmly. “I don’t want to lecture you, I just want to finish filming this drama properly. I don’t care about your dissatisfaction with me, but please don’t bring your personal emotions to work. It’s really unprofessional, very, very unprofessional.”

Whether it was age or years in the industry, Xiang Yiye’s credentials were much lower. Being told he was unprofessional in public by someone who was practically a junior infuriated Han Fangyan. He flung his sleeves and left.

Xu Chuo stood still. Xiang Yiye leaned back casually, saying, “He’s gone, aren’t you going to chase after him?” His expression was nonchalant, even a little righteous. But as soon as he said it, he regretted it, because Xu Chuo chased after him the next second.

He tells him to chase and he actually listens. Xiang Yiye thought through gritted teeth.

That night, at the cast and crew’s hotel, Lin Xiao brought a large pile of food and knocked on Xiang Yiye’s door.

Xiang Yiye looked at the snacks, braised food, and fried items, saying, “Sister Xiao, if you eat this much at night, does Sister Xiao Zhou know?”

“Tsk, if you don’t tell her and I don’t tell her, how would she know?” Lin Xiao said. “I specifically brought these things to visit you, it would be too heartless if you sold me out.”

Xiang Yiye deeply doubted the logic of that statement, because the things Lin Xiao brought were either heavily oiled, rich in meat, or completely devoid of nutrition, and none of them seemed to be beneficial for wound recovery. But then he thought that it would be nice to have someone to talk to, since he didn’t have many acquaintances on the set.

“How’s your foot? How long will it take to heal?”

“Mild ligament strain, it’ll take four or five days at the earliest to walk.”

“I’m so jealous of you, you have a legitimate reason to stop working,” Lin Xiao said.

“What’s there to be jealous of? It’s not a good thing,” Xiang Yiye said. “I’ve discussed it with the director, and we can film the upper body scenes first these few days.”

“Oh my god, my dear, do you have to be so dedicated?” Lin Xiao said. “You should recover properly first. What if it leaves lasting problems?”

“It shouldn’t. There’s really not enough time. I have to go back to school for exams next month, so this won’t delay everyone’s progress,” Xiang Yiye said.

He was often seen studying with his review materials and online courses on set, and Lin Xiao had seen it many times. “You’re juggling studies and work, it’s so hard. Have you ever thought about focusing on acting in the future?” she said.

“Sister Xiao, are you suggesting I drop out?” Xiang Yiye said. “I’ve thought about it, but it might not be possible right now. Mainly because my family doesn’t agree. I’m even hiding the fact that I’m filming this drama from them.”

“Ah? Are you planning to keep hiding it? That’s going to be difficult, unless your parents never watch TV or go online…” Lin Xiao said.

“I’m still thinking about how to convince them. I don’t want to use extreme methods, so I’m juggling both for now,” Xiang Yiye said.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“A little. Maybe before a person does what they like, they have responsibilities to face. Thinking like that makes it a little better,” Xiang Yiye said.

“How old are you, just 20, right? Your perspective is too mature,” Lin Xiao said in shock. What she didn’t know was that Xiang Yiye was currently in a 20-year-old body, but with the soul of a 30-year-old. The latter was several years older than her.

After that, Lin Xiao felt more and more sorry for Xiang Yiye. Her maternal instincts overflowed, becoming uncontrollable, and she started frantically feeding Xiang Yiye things to eat. Xiang Yiye’s stomach gradually became round from being stuffed. Then they heard someone knocking on the door again.

“Who is it so late?” Lin Xiao pulled out a few tissues, wiping the oil off her hands. “I’ll go, I’ll go. Your legs aren’t working well, you stay put.”

The door opened, and two questions rang out simultaneously from inside and outside the door—

“What are you doing here?”

“Why are you here?”

Lin Xiao was the first to respond: “Why can’t I be here? I’m here to visit the injured, thanks to your little Han’s good work!”

Xu Chuo said, “I have something to say to Xiang Yiye, could you give us some privacy?”

“What can’t I hear?” Lin Xiao saw the things in his hand, and said, “What’s this, is it poison? Are you going to murder him to vent your anger for Little Han?”

“What kind of nonsense are you thinking about every day?” Xu Chuo said. “It’s food. I’m here to apologize to Xiang Yiye on behalf of Fangyan.”

Lin Xiao was a little skeptical, but she thought that this was something that the sophisticated Xu Chuo would do. She told Xiang Yiye to be careful, and went back to her room.

Xiang Yiye had heard Xu Chuo’s voice a long time ago, and he was frantically cleaning up the trash in the room. By the time Xu Chuo came in, the extremely messy sofa and coffee table had been greatly improved, becoming five-tenths messy.

Xu Chuo put the things he brought on the table and asked, “How’s your ankle?”

“It’s fine, I won’t die,” Xiang Yiye said, and then regretted it a little, feeling that his tone was too sarcastic. He clearly wanted to talk properly.

Xu Chuo sat down next to him and said, “Today at the basketball court, I was a little surprised to hear what you said to Fangyan.”

“I’m a rookie, but I’m not a pushover,” Xiang Yiye said.

“I know you’re tough. I saw that on the first day we met,” Xu Chuo said gently. “What I mean is, you were able to say those things, Fangyan must have made things difficult for you. He’s not a bad person, he just has a bad temper. I’m here to apologize on his behalf, you can ask for anything you want.”

He really was here to apologize, afraid that he and Han Fangyan would become enemies. Xiang Yiye said, “I know, he’s just a child, and the problem isn’t entirely his fault. I shouldn’t have taken the initiative to talk to you. I’ll stay away from you, and he won’t bother me anymore. You probably came here behind his back, right? I advise you to leave before he finds out, or you’ll have to explain things again.”

Xiang Yiye’s tone was not good, full of sarcasm, but Xu Chuo didn’t mind at all. He opened the thermos, saying, “I saw you seemed to like this during the day.”

Without looking closely, Xiang Yiye knew what was in the bowl just from the smell. Xu Chuo had brought a corn soup chicken pot during the day. Lin Xiao didn’t like it, but it was very much to Xiang Yiye’s taste.

At this moment, Xiang Yiye belatedly realized that it was also Han Fangyan’s favorite soup. He was able to drink it during the day only because he had benefited from Han Fangyan’s presence. So he said coldly, “I don’t like it.” He didn’t want to benefit from anyone.

“There’s also a little something.” Xu Chuo opened another box, inside which was a delicate, brand-new pair of half-rim glasses. “This style is simpler and more suitable for you, and it doesn’t have a prescription. Even if you don’t use it for filming, you can wear it normally.”

Xu Chuo studied art, and his aesthetic sense was always excellent, as could be seen from his own fashion sense. If he said it was suitable, it probably wouldn’t be wrong. But Xiang Yiye didn’t even look at it, pushing the box away, “I don’t accept unearned gifts, and I can’t afford big brands. People will think it’s a fake.”

“It’s not just about the price, it’s about the person who wears it. It mainly suits your temperament. Put it aside, you’ll have a chance to wear it someday. I can tell you’re a promising stock, it won’t be put away for long,” Xu Chuo said.

These words were so smooth and sophisticated that there was no way to pick a fight. Xiang Yiye frowned, “Are you like this with everyone?”

“Like this… in what way?” Xu Chuo smiled faintly, relaxed and at ease.