SM Chapter 34

Chapter 34: You’re the First One Who Needs Me to Direct a Bed Scene

Because of the bed scene the next day, Ye Lai tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He had memorized his lines perfectly, but he was still nervous.

The actress he would be working with the next day was a senior colleague several years older than him. The two of them had even gotten to know each other better in advance that day. The actress noticed his nervousness and instead comforted him, telling him not to be afraid, just let things flow naturally during the shoot, and not to put too much pressure on himself.

But Ye Lai’s eyes twitched as soon as he looked at the action descriptions in the script. He practiced with the pillow several times, but nothing felt right, and in desperation, he could only go to Sheng Mingqian.

Sheng Mingqian opened the door with a dark face, initially only cracking it open a tiny bit. It was only when he saw that it was Ye Lai that he sobered up slightly.

“What is it?”

It was only then that Ye Lai remembered that it was already past two in the morning. Sheng Mingqian must have been sleeping, and he looked impatient at being woken up by the doorbell. The black bathrobe Sheng Mingqian was wearing was also a bit disheveled, the front open, revealing his impressive chest muscles, his chest rising and falling with his breath. The belt was tied loosely, and below the hem of the bathrobe were a pair of strong calves.

Ye Lai swallowed and quickly averted his eyes, tilting his body to the side and looking furtively down the hallway like a thief.

The other actors and staff members were already asleep. After confirming that no one was in the hallway, he lowered his voice again: “Director Sheng, I’m sorry to disturb your rest so late. Can I, can I come into your room to talk?”

Sheng Mingqian’s gaze towards Ye Lai changed. Over the years, it wasn’t uncommon for people to be sent to his room in the middle of the night. Some were stuffed in by investors, others came on their own initiative, but he never expected Ye Lai to knock on his door in the middle of the night.

Ye Lai didn’t notice Sheng Mingqian’s shifting expression. Sheng Mingqian didn’t say yes or no, so he raised his chin again and asked again with his eyes.

Sheng Mingqian shook off the conjectures in his mind and thought that Ye Lai might really have something important to say. He opened the door a little wider, indicating that he could come in.

Ye Lai squeezed past Sheng Mingqian, his arm brushing against Sheng Mingqian’s body. It was just a slight friction, clothes against clothes, but Ye Lai still felt like he’d been electrocuted, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

Sheng Mingqian waited for Ye Lai to enter the room, then turned and closed the door with a “click.”

The room still had a lingering smell of tobacco. Only a night light was on, and the light was dim. The quilt on the large bed was messy, the script and Sheng Mingqian’s dress pants lay open on the sofa, and a flattened cigarette pack and lighter were on the tea table, with several black cigarette butts in the ashtray.

The filming had been going smoothly since returning from the mountains, but Sheng Mingqian was smoking more often than before. Ye Lai counted every day; before, it was one or two cigarettes a day, but recently it had been four or five, sometimes more.

“Director Sheng, have you been troubled by something lately?”

As soon as Ye Lai asked, Sheng Mingqian’s brows furrowed, and he stared at him for a few seconds: “You came to me in the middle of the night just to ask me this?”

Ye Lai stood there, not knowing whether to advance or retreat. He touched his neck and hesitated before finally opening his mouth: “Director Sheng, I want you to teach me.”

Sheng Mingqian’s interest was piqued, and he asked with his arms crossed: “You want me to teach you what?”

Ye Lai organized his words in his mind, but when he spoke, he still stammered: “Tomorrow’s bed scene, I, I… I still don’t know how to act it. I always ran into problems when filming those scenes before, and I don’t want to delay everyone’s progress again this time. I want you to teach me, how, exactly, should I act in tomorrow’s bed scene?”

As soon as Ye Lai finished speaking, Sheng Mingqian chuckled. The laughter floated into Ye Lai’s ears, like feathers tickling him.

Sheng Mingqian walked to the sofa, leaned back lazily, bent down to pick up the cigarette pack and lighter from the sofa, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and exhaled two puffs of smoke, blurring Ye Lai’s face.

“Have you had any experience? Have you done it before? With a woman, or… a man?”

Behind the gray-white smoke, Ye Lai pursed his lips slightly, his lips moving, his eyelids drooping and then opening again, his eyelashes fluttering. His teeth bit his tongue, not answering Sheng Mingqian’s question, only feeling a needle-like stinging sensation on his tongue, which instead covered up the shame he felt in coming to Sheng Mingqian.

Ye Lai didn’t say anything. Sheng Mingqian waited for a while and, not hearing him speak, didn’t ask again.

“Are you familiar with the script?”

Ye Lai nodded: “I am.”

“Are you familiar with the actress you’re working with?”

“I’m somewhat familiar with her.”

“Where do you feel like you’re not performing well?”

“I guess… I’m afraid I won’t be able to grasp the proper degree.”

Sheng Mingqian had almost finished a cigarette. The smell of smoke in the room was getting stronger and a bit pungent. Ye Lai coughed twice, and Sheng Mingqian walked to the window and opened it.

The temperature outside had already dropped. The cool breeze rushed in and quickly dispersed the smoke in the room. Only then did Sheng Mingqian get a clear look at Ye Lai’s face. He was looking down at his toes, his earlobes and neck were completely red, and he didn’t know if it was from the smoke.

Ye Lai’s hands were empty, without a point of focus. He looked up at Sheng Mingqian and also asked for a cigarette.

The two men smoked in the room, and the atmosphere of silence suddenly intensified the awkwardness in the air.

Ye Lai’s mind was already unclear when facing Sheng Mingqian. He had come to Sheng Mingqian not only because he didn’t know how to act in a bed scene, but also because of a sudden impulse of selfishness.

Three more cigarette butts were added to the ashtray. Sheng Mingqian took a deep breath and beckoned to Ye Lai.

“I don’t need to tell you more about the character’s mental journey and state. You’ve already understood that very well. I’ll just give you a rough demonstration, and you can go back and think about it.”

Ye Lai nodded like he was pounding garlic: “Thank you, Director Sheng.”

“Now, you treat me as the actress, and I’ll act with you.” Sheng Mingqian straightened his body and took two steps back, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands propped up on the bed behind him.

Chi Wen liked women, but Ye Lai liked Sheng Mingqian. Sheng Mingqian wasn’t a woman, and Ye Lai couldn’t imagine Sheng Mingqian, with his sexy Adam’s apple, as a woman. He tugged at the clothes on his body, not knowing what to do.

Sheng Mingqian saw that he hadn’t reacted and was standing there looking at him blankly like a wooden statue, and reminded him in a deep voice, “What are you waiting for? Why aren’t you coming over?”

Ye Lai straightened his back all of a sudden, his mind blank, unable to control his hands and feet. By the time his senses had returned, he had already been led onto the bed by Sheng Mingqian, his right knee kneeling between Sheng Mingqian’s legs, half-lying on top of him.

In his eyes were Sheng Mingqian’s heroic, upturned eyebrows, high nose bridge, stern face, and well-defined contours.

“Chi Wen is dreaming now. In his dream, he sees the girl he’s been stalking lying on his bed. Mentally, he’s satisfied, and his physical reactions and actions are urgent. He’ll tear open the girl’s white shirt first…”

Sheng Mingqian slowly guided Ye Lai into the state with his words. Obediently listening to Sheng Mingqian, Ye Lai’s fingers tore open the front of Sheng Mingqian’s bathrobe, then pulled down hard, which did look very urgent.

The black bathrobe was piled around Sheng Mingqian’s waist. Without the covering of the fabric, his upper body was exposed to Ye Lai’s eyes.

The first demonstration was unsuccessful. Ye Lai, supporting himself with his arms, lay on Sheng Mingqian’s body and embarrassingly had a nosebleed. The drop of blood landed on Sheng Mingqian’s shoulder and quickly slid from his shoulder to the white sheet, leaving a round, red stain. Although the light was dim, that red color was particularly glaring.

With a sudden change, Ye Lai jumped away from Sheng Mingqian, flusteredly jumping off the bed and standing by the bed, covering his nose and apologizing to Sheng Mingqian: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Director Sheng, I might have had too much heaty food recently… Let me help you wipe it off.”

He quickly pulled a few tissues from the tissue box on the nearby table, pinching a wad of paper to cover his bleeding nose with one hand and wiping the blood from Sheng Mingqian’s shoulder and the sheet with the other.

Sheng Mingqian put the bathrobe that Ye Lai had torn open back on, stood up, and pulled Ye Lai into the bathroom.

Fortunately, the nosebleed stopped quickly. Ye Lai’s face was as red as a boiled shrimp, and he cupped water in both hands and vigorously patted his face, trying to wake himself up.

He didn’t dare to look at Sheng Mingqian, but after washing off the blood, he looked up and met Sheng Mingqian’s dark eyes in the mirror, which were mixed with a hint of amusement.

Ye Lai didn’t have time to think deeply, only feeling very embarrassed. He had a nosebleed looking at Sheng Mingqian without clothes on, and he didn’t know what Sheng Mingqian would think of him.

He averted his eyes and said softly, “Director Sheng, I’m sorry…”

Sheng Mingqian handed him a clean towel: “Are you going to continue like this?”

Ye Lai wiped the water from his face, as if he had made up his mind: “Why don’t you… teach me one more time? I still couldn’t find the right state just now.”

This time Sheng Mingqian played Chi Wen, and Ye Lai breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ll only demonstrate it to you one more time,” Sheng Mingqian’s voice was deeper than before. “After the demonstration, you go back to your room to think about it.”

“Okay.”

Ye Lai lay half-reclined on the bed, and Sheng Mingqian pressed down on his body. He didn’t really tear Ye Lai’s clothes, just demonstrated the actions. He lightly pressed down on his arm with one hand, lowered his head, and leaned close to his neck, still keeping a slight distance.

The faint scent of lime from the body wash was on Ye Lai’s slender neck, sweet with a hint of fragrance, refreshing and not greasy. But the end of that scent was like a hook, pulling at Sheng Mingqian’s sense of smell and other sensitive nerves.

“First tear her clothes, then kiss her eagerly, from top to bottom, forehead, tip of the nose, lips, chin, then to the neck, collarbone, and chest. The camera won’t go all the way down, only to the collarbone…”

Sheng Mingqian explained as he did it. Except for the tip of his nose accidentally brushing against Ye Lai’s chin, the other actions didn’t really touch him.

“Do you understand with me saying this?”

“I understand.”

Ye Lai breathed intermittently, but the scent on his body never dissipated, slowly wrapping around Sheng Mingqian’s body and gradually tightening, until it bound him tightly.

The arms that Sheng Mingqian was using to support himself on either side of Ye Lai’s shoulders were tense, the force like he was making a final resistance, his nose finally stopping at Ye Lai’s chest.

Ye Lai didn’t dare to move the whole time. His senses were gradually magnified, so he still felt Sheng Mingqian’s physical change. The part of his body inside the bathrobe had changed and was touching his lower abdomen.

After understanding what that change was, he suddenly raised his eyelids and saw Sheng Mingqian’s jawline twitch a few times.

Before Ye Lai could speak, the weight on his body suddenly receded. Sheng Mingqian had already gotten off of him. The mattress bounced as Sheng Mingqian got out of bed, and Ye Lai’s consciousness also shook up and down before slowly concentrating again. He propped himself up with his arms and sat up.

Sheng Mingqian stood at the head of the bed with his back to Ye Lai, raised his hand to run it through his hair, and straightened his disheveled bathrobe belt, coughing lightly and saying, “It’s too late, you should go back first. We’ll shoot with a closed set tomorrow. If there’s anything you don’t understand, we can talk about it on set.”

Ye Lai’s mind was still on Sheng Mingqian’s momentary physical change, and he didn’t know where he got the courage: “Director Sheng, did you used to direct other actors in bed scenes like this?”

Sheng Mingqian turned his head, his expression already indifferent, but on closer inspection, it was more like the calm after a storm: “You’re the first one who needs me to direct a bed scene.”