CH 20

“Feeling happy and relaxed is a good sign,” Dr. Chen encouraged him. “Your physiological condition will improve step-by-step. There’s no need to rush things.”

Xu Jingzhe replied helplessly, “I’m not really rushing…” 

Right now, he felt he was somewhat like a valve. His mental state was the entrance of the valve, but that sense of desire seemed to sink to the bottom, unable to find the exit. Like a stone in a lake, it sank to the bottom with a thud, but not a single ripple appeared upon the surface.

He wasn’t able to get any consolation from his doctor. Liang Yu would also be visiting in a couple of days. Xu Jingzhe found himself a little too anxious to sleep and passed the night in a daze. When he arrived on set the next day, Luo Yaoye was startled by his weary complexion.

“Did you have a hard time sleeping?” She had just finished changing, and the hair stylist was inserting a pearl hairpin on her head. She took a closer glance at Xu Jingzhe’s face. “It’s my first time seeing you like this. You actually have dark circles under your eyes.”

Xu Jingzhe looked in the mirror for a bit. There were, in fact, dark circles under his eyes, but it wasn’t too obvious and could be covered up. 

Luo Yaoye very considerately came up with an excuse for him. “The environment here isn’t very good. Just yesterday, my assistant found mold in the bed. She left for a nearby town last night to buy a new blanket. I don’t even know if she’ll be able to get her hands on one.”

Xu Jingzhe had gone to bed early. Besides a strong smell of moisture, he hadn’t really paid a lot of attention to the condition of his blanket. Zhu Xiaoxiao turned pale with shock. She looked as if she was about to go through his blankets right away.

“I just tend to have a hard time sleeping in a bed that isn’t my own.” Xu Jingzhe didn’t want his assistant to make a big fuss. He explained, “It might be because it’s my first time staying at a conservation district. The birds are a little loud at night.”

Luo Yaoye nodded in agreement. Then, she carefully stared at Xu Jingzhe’s face for a bit and sighed enviously, “You don’t have even a single wrinkle or pore. How do you maintain your skin? Have you gotten any microneedling done?”

Xu Jingzhe: “…”

The focus for today was outdoor scenes. The directing style for this drama wasn’t chronological. In order to speed up the process, they often pushed the important scenes up the schedule and got them out of the way first.

Today, the genius physician, played by Xu Jingzhe, would rescue the heroine, played by Luo Yaoye, in a bamboo forest. First, there would be a brief battle. Then, Xu Jingzhe would climb halfway up a mountain with Luo Yaoye on his back.

“He’s actually going to piggyback me?” Luo Yaoye asked the director. 

Set B was the stage for the fight scenes. First, the assassin would go at it with the heroine’s guard. Xu Jingzhe would then enter the scene later.

Director Liu said, “Of course he’s going to piggyback you. There isn’t a single stunt double on set that’s lighter than you. Who else is he supposed to piggyback?”

Luo Yaoye was a little anxious. “I was talking about him. He’s lost a lot of weight. Is he actually going to carry me halfway up a mountain?”

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Luo Yaoye said generously, “Go ahead and do your worst. I’m playing a lady in dire straits. How pretty could she possibly be?”

By the time she appeared before the lens, she looked like the epitome of misfortune. Xu Jingzhe had just finished his fight scene. The fight choreographer undid the wiring that had assisted him with the in-air movements. The two of them then performed a quick runthrough of the positions. Meanwhile, Director Liu looked at the camera monitor.

“Yaoye, lean against the bamboo more—yes, just like that. The look in your eyes needs to be a little more fierce,” Director Liu gave her some pointers. “You don’t trust him yet. You think he’s going to kill you. You need to be on your guard. Keep something on you. Once he gets close, hit him, really hit him.”

Luo Yaoye: “…” She kind of didn’t want to. “Do I really have to hit him?” 

Xu Jingzhe laughed. “It’s alright. Go ahead and hit me. It’s necessary for the plot.”

Luo Yaoye thought it over for a bit. Then, she sighed helplessly. “Let’s do it then. If it hurts, just let me know.”

Xu Jingzhe was obviously not going to say anything. He was well-known in the industry for his excellent acting skills and his ability to endure hardship. Within seconds of clapping the clapperboard, Xu Jingzhe’s eyes changed. In that moment, his entire person was like a sword that had left its scabbard.

Luo Yaoye’s expression was that of alarm, half of which had been brought out by her co-actor’s performance, half of which had been a refusal to admit defeat. Tears pooled within her eyes, but they stubbornly refused to fall. 

Xu Jingzhe paused for a moment. With a flick of his wrist, he put his blade away and slowly approached her.

The script then required the female lead to throw stones at the male lead. Luo Yaoye scrambled around on the ground for a bit. Before she could see what it was she had grabbed, she flung it towards Xu Jingzhe.

“…” Xu Jingzhe paused for a second or two after being slapped in the face with mud or feces or who knows what.

Director Liu didn’t yell cut. This pause was actually quite fitting in his opinion. It did an excellent job of expressing both the male lead’s and female lead’s standings and emotions at this moment. 

The camera hadn’t stopped rolling, so the actors had to continue acting. Xu Jingzhe continued to walk towards Luo Yaoye with a calm expression. He looked down at her for a while. Then, he suddenly bent down and lifted her up.

Luo Yaoye screamed in alarm. She wasn’t acting. She was truly afraid that Xu Jingzhe would lose his grip and take her down with him.

Her abdomen rested upon Xu Jingzhe’s shoulder. She could feel the sharp outline of his shoulder pressing against her. Xu Jingzhe was really too thin. Luo Yaoye’s thoughts spun wildly. He would probably collapse after half a mile, let alone halfway up a mountain.

In the script, the young lady not only needed to struggle, but she also needed to hit the genius physician. It wasn’t a difficult thing for her to pretend to struggle, but knowing where to hit was the issue. She couldn’t pull at his hair for fear of pulling off his wig. Thus, she had no choice but to go for his face, neck, and shoulders. 

Xu Jingzhe had told her to hit him for real, so Luo Yaoye decided that she might as well throw caution to the wind and just go for it. There were a couple of places where even she had felt she’d hit him too hard, but Xu Jingzhe didn’t let out the slightest sound. He just kept carrying her along. It was only once Director Liu called cut that Xu Jingzhe slowly set her down.

Luo Yaoye stared at the scratches on his neck. The expression on her face twisted.

Xu Jingzhe brushed his fingertips over the marks and comforted her: “Fortunately, my face got out of it unscathed. You did a good job.”

Luo Yaoye was really about to cry. “Enough already. Go get it treated.” 

Director Liu was very satisfied with this part. He even urged Xu Jingzhe not to treat the wounds. Rather, he wanted to show them off. “Wait until the mountain climbing scene. I’ll make sure to get you a close up. These scratches will be the icing on the cake!”

Xu Jingzhe really didn’t understand certain directors’ sense of aesthetics. The makeup artist was currently dealing with the dirt on his face. This bamboo forest had been manually planted. The area must’ve been fertilized not too long ago. The soil contained the faint smell of manure. Xu Jingzhe felt a little dizzy from the smell. Still, Director Liu called him over to review the footage they had just shot.

“Your face looks good even when it’s dirty. That pause was perfect.” His nose twitched. He commented, “Does it actually stink?”

Xu Jingzhe sighed and said, “Should I get Ms. Luo to throw some at you as well?” 

Director Liu laughed out loud.

The leads worked together incredibly well, so a lot of the shots were finished in one take. It was mostly because Luo Yaoye didn’t want Xu Jingzhe to work too hard. He probably hadn’t even realized it himself, but, whenever he put a lot of effort into something, there was an air of vulnerability about him. It made people want to protect him.

As the sun was setting, Xu Jingzhe squatted down and let Luo Yaoye lie on his back.

“Am I heavy?” Luo Yaoye asked softly, leaning on his back. 

Xu Jingzhe gently replied, “You’re really not heavy. You’ve asked, like, seventy times already.”

Luo Yaoye felt a little embarrassed. She couldn’t relax. Director Liu scolded her from behind the camera. “You’ve fainted! Don’t tense up! Do you really think the audience won’t be able to see how stiff your back is right now!?”

Luo Yaoye: “…”

Xu Jingzhe lifted her up a bit more and comforted her. “Just pretend that you’re asleep. Don’t worry. I can handle it, really.” 

Luo Yaoye had no choice but to go limp.

Even though he wasn’t actually going to be carrying her up the entire mountain, they still needed to get around seven or eight shots of this scene. That way, it would seem more believable to the audience once all the shots had been edited and strung together.

A single shot would be at least twenty minutes long. Xu Jingzhe had to walk with Luo Yaoye on his back the entire time. During the close-up, the camera even managed to capture the sweat upon his neck.

Fortunately, he was given breaks in between takes. Zhu Xiaoxiao was truly distressed on his behalf. 

“You’ve been filming for more than two hours.” She helped fan Xu Jingzhe. Meanwhile, the makeup artist helped wipe away his sweat. “The sun’s almost gone. Are we going to keep filming? Can’t we wait until tomorrow?”

The makeup artist consoled her, “It’s been a tiring day. We might as well get all the exhausting parts done with. Mr. Xu doesn’t want to drag it out until tomorrow.”

Xu Jingzhe wanted to save some energy, so he didn’t speak. The wound on his neck was actually rather painful. Plus, he’d been sweating the entire time. He wasn’t sure if it had swollen or not.

“Help me take a look,” Xu Jingzhe suddenly said to Zhu Xiaoxiao. “Check the scenes I just filmed. Check my face, my expressions, everything. If it doesn’t look good, we’ll have to retake it.” 

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “…”

The Author Has Something To Say:

Xu Jingzhe: It doesn’t matter if I’m tired or not. The most important thing is facial management.

Translator’s Note: 

My finals are over!! Thank you all for the wait!