After Being Reborn, He Became An Ace In A Boy Band Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Filming the MV “Is He Jealous?!”…

Since his debut, Jiang Yilan had always been the one in the group who dyed his hair most frequently, rarely having entirely black hair. Even during periods of inactivity, if too much black hair grew out, he would touch it up or simply switch to a different color. For the new single’s concept, Li Xun suggested trying all black. After consulting the Entertainment Agency, the stylist agreed, mentioning she had wanted to dye his hair black last time, but Jiang Yilan hadn’t been willing.

After the hair was dyed and trimmed, the stylist praised him in front of the mirror for three minutes, calling everyone over to look.

The black hair accentuated his delicate features. Without the flamboyance of his usual bright colors, he sat before the mirror, looking quiet and gentle.

Li Xun brushed his fringe, feeling a bit uncomfortable. “Should the fringe be trimmed shorter?”

“No, no, no!” The stylist grabbed his wrist excitedly. “We need this slightly irritating feeling, understand? It gives a fragile beauty!”

“Really…”

“Yes, yes! Absolutely don’t cut it! At least wait until we finish shooting this concept. I’ll trim it then. Just bear with it for now, don’t mind the prickliness!”

On the day of the concept shoot, Jiang Yilan wore a white, court-style shirt, posing in an indoor garden set. He leaned against a marble table, his legs, encased in black trousers, long and straight. The photographer took many full-body shots, then focused the lens on his face.

“A little more innocent expression… perfect.”

“Tilt your head slightly, yes, that’s beautiful.”

“Kneel in the flowers, yes, kneel straight, look up at me.”

After the individual shots, the five members gathered in front of a flower wall for a group photo. Jiang Yilan stood in the middle, and the photographer suggested, “Hold a flower in your hand.”

An assistant selected a white rose for him. Li Xun held the half-open bloom, lowered his eyes, and leaned in to smell it. The photographer pressed the shutter.

After several takes, everyone gathered to review the photos. The shot of Jiang Yilan holding the flower and sniffing it had a great atmosphere, earning universal praise. However, the others weren’t in character, so it couldn’t be used as a main promotional photo, but it could be saved as a behind-the-scenes shot for Weibo.

With the photos complete, the MV shooting was next on the agenda. This MV told the story of five childhood friends who were very close but grew up and became busy with their own lives, gradually drifting apart. They eventually reunite to rekindle their childhood bond.

Jiang Yilan’s character in the MV was an actor. Several important contrasting scenes showed him winning Best Actor—glamorous, high-spirited, and successful—but privately suffering from severe psychological issues, unable to sleep through the night. He is shown smashing the trophy on his desk and walking alone in the deserted streets late at night, letting the rain soak him.

This scene transitioned into Tang Ruining’s character, who played a young boss struggling to start a business. He worked hard to reach the peak of his career, only for a single oversight to nearly cause him to go bankrupt. His career suffered a major blow. He goes out drinking, encounters heavy rain, and meets his childhood friend—the popular, newly awarded actor—on the street late at night.

Tang Ruining leaned against a dirty wall, eyes closed, half-asleep. Suddenly, the rain above his head stopped. He opened his eyes, rainwater on his eyelids flowing into his eyes. Someone was blocking most of the streetlight in front of him, holding an umbrella over his head. His mind was hazy, his vision unfocused. Before he could clearly see the person’s face, a familiar voice spoke, tinged with a smile: “You really know how to pick a spot to sleep. There’s a 24-hour convenience store right behind you. I bought you an umbrella.”

The two looked at each other. The heavy rain around them seemed to form a barrier, enclosing just the two of them.

After a few seconds, Tang Ruining smiled. He wiped the water from his face, his voice hoarse. “Can you sign the umbrella for me, big star? I’ll sell it for money.”

“Of course.” Jiang Yilan reached out and pulled him up. They laughed and embraced, as if they had never grown distant.

“Cut!” the director called out. “That was good! Excellent. We just need a few close-ups of the faces.”

When the director called cut, the two quickly separated. Since Li Xun was holding the umbrella with one hand, he could only wrap his other arm around Tang Ruining’s waist, while Tang Ruining was hugging him tightly with both arms.

During the first take, Tang Ruining had been slightly awkward, unsure how to hug. When Jiang Yilan pulled him up from the ground, he leaned forward but braked in time to avoid crashing into his arms, making the movement look a little comical and leaving Jiang Yilan unsure how to catch him.

The director explained the scene, then joked, “Don’t you know how brothers hug? Hug more often!”

In the second take, Tang Ruining followed the director’s instructions and wrapped his arms around Jiang Yilan. Jiang Yilan circled his waist and took a small step back. They hugged very tightly.

“Cut!” The director scratched his head, slightly exasperated. “Don’t hug like a couple! You’re good friends who haven’t seen each other in years, not a newly reunited husband and wife. Why so clingy?”

Jiang Yilan smelled very fresh. Tang Ruining remembered that the cologne he used before was a bit pungent, which he disliked. But now, up close, there was a faint scent of herbs and citrus, which was very pleasant.

However, this scent felt familiar. He couldn’t recall whose body he had smelled it on before.

While he was distracted, Jiang Yilan said to him, “Let’s practice how to hug naturally first.”

That face was very close. His hair was soaked with rain, his fringe plastered to his forehead, water dripping from the ends. His eyes were slightly red from the rain and the irritation of the wet fringe.

Tang Ruining nodded, his gaze following a drop of water sliding down Jiang Yilan’s nose. He asked, “What?”

“Let’s practice ourselves,” Jiang Yilan repeated. He was still holding the umbrella, tilting the handle to shake off the water.

He held the umbrella steady again. Tang Ruining stepped back a few paces. “Then, I’ll hug you?”

“Mm, come on.” Jiang Yilan spread his free hand, ready for the embrace.

Tang Ruining stepped forward and hugged him, remembering the director’s comment about a brotherly hug, so he patted Jiang Yilan’s back with his hand.

After just two pats, he heard Jiang Yilan chuckle softly near his ear. Tang Ruining didn’t know what was wrong. He released him, looking confused. “What is it?”

“A little too forceful,” Jiang Yilan said, still smiling.

“…Sorry.”

In the final take, Tang Ruining was pulled up by the hand and embraced in an equally wet hug. The noise of the rain seemed to be suddenly paused. The sound of the other person’s breathing in his ear was clearer than the rain hitting the umbrella. Jiang Yilan held him, gently patted his back, and his voice carried a gentle smile: “Long time no see.”

The sound of the rain returned, drumming into Tang Ruining’s ears.

After this scene was finished, both quickly changed clothes and dried their hair to avoid catching a cold. Fortunately, the set was built indoors, so it wasn’t too cold. Today’s filming was temporarily over. The next day, they would shoot the reunion segment, which mainly involved two scenes: one where the five drove together, chatting and laughing in the car; and another where they celebrated Yuan Zhiyan’s birthday party at a villa, having fun together.

The driving scene didn’t require actual driving; they just sat there and pretended. The director had Rong Xiao sit in the driver’s seat and Jiang Yilan in the passenger seat, telling them to chat casually, be happy, and capture shots of them laughing joyfully and moments when they were quiet, staring ahead at the road, each lost in thought.

Yuan Zhiyan, sitting in the middle of the back seat, started the conversation. “Brothers, what are we eating tonight?”

Rong Xiao looked at him through the rearview mirror and laughed. “You’re still eating? Didn’t you say you were going on a diet?”

“I’ve been trying to diet for so many days, I really can’t cut back anymore!” Feeling greatly wronged, Yuan Zhiyan turned to Jiang Yilan in the front. “Ge, only you know how hard this is for me.”

“He sent me a WeChat message at midnight last night asking if I could cook him a bowl of noodles,” Jiang Yilan immediately chimed in, reporting him.

Everyone laughed, trying to make their expressions exaggerated.

“You didn’t, did you?” Wu Xingye exclaimed in surprise. “That late, you wanted to eat and dragged someone else up to cook.”

Jiang Yilan said, “I didn’t get up. I was asleep.”

Yuan Zhiyan leaned his head forward, resting it on Jiang Yilan’s seatback. “He cooks delicious food, though. You don’t understand, Lanlan Ge’s tomato and egg noodles are the best tomato and egg noodles I’ve ever had.”

“Then let’s cook tomato and egg noodles tonight,” Li Xun said. “What about you guys? Do you want that too? I’ll cook for everyone.”

Wu Xingye: “That’s too much trouble. You’ve been cooking so often lately.”

“It’s fine. You guys have been doing the dishes and cleaning up, haven’t you?” Li Xun then turned to ask Tang Ruining, who hadn’t spoken yet, “Ruining, what do you want to eat? You don’t seem to like tomatoes, right?”

The person suddenly called upon looked up. “…It’s okay.”

In fact, the director had already captured the shots of them chatting and laughing, and had turned off the camera, waiting for them to finish their conversation.

“Are you done chatting? Now let’s shoot some deep moments. Just look out the window and don’t talk.”

Tang Ruining was sitting diagonally across from Jiang Yilan. If he turned his head, he could see a small portion of Jiang Yilan’s profile.

The car was very quiet. Jiang Yilan lowered his eyes and wasn’t looking out the window, lost in thought. The external lights shone in, and his eyelashes fluttered several times.

Next, they filmed the party segment, planning to finish it today if possible. The members changed into casual clothes and had some face paint on. The birthday boy was painted like a calico cat, wearing a birthday crown and the most gaudy outfit. When he blew out the cake candles, his face was smeared with cream, which he very carefully scooped into his mouth, treasuring the food.

It didn’t taste very good; it was cheap cake bought as a prop. But Yuan Zhiyan wasn’t picky. He had genuinely been controlling his diet these past few days, especially his sugar intake, and was now suffering from intense cravings.

Next, they had to film a scene of them dancing wildly amidst streamers and confetti. Yuan Zhiyan got carried away, jumping and hugging Jiang Yilan excitedly. His crown flew off, and Tang Ruining caught the paper crown behind him.

“Hey, you’re behind me, Ge,” Yuan Zhiyan panted, turning around to take his crown. He grinned. “Thanks, Ge!”

“Lan Ge, help me put it on.” Yuan Zhiyan turned back and handed the crown to Jiang Yilan. Jiang Yilan helped him secure it and even complimented him, “Looks great, like a little puppy.”

Yuan Zhiyan giggled foolishly. With his current curly brown hair, he did look like a puppy.

A sudden voice came from behind him: “You have so many ‘Ges’.”

Yuan Zhiyan turned around, only seeing Tang Ruining’s retreating back, a streamer still draped over his shoulder.

When they wrapped up, Yuan Zhiyan was exhausted and slumped into a nearby chair. A few minutes later, he suddenly jumped up, grabbing Jiang Yilan, who was drinking water and nearly choked from the shock. He said in horror, “Holy crap, is Ruining Ge angry? Is he jealous?!”

Li Xun quickly put down his water cup, afraid of knocking it over, completely unable to follow Yuan Zhiyan’s train of thought. “…Huh?”

“It must be. I’m always sticking to you now, calling you ‘Ge, Ge, Ge,’ and I don’t stick to him anymore.” The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. Yuan Zhiyan slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair.

“Sigh, Ruining Ge is really something!” Yuan Zhiyan muttered to himself, smiling sweetly. “Ge really loves me.”