CH 015

TL: Moonlit

Ye Wenjun’s face turned cold. “Have you read the script? The scene where Sun Wukong’s Grandpa dies.”

Lin Hanchuan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ye Wenjun was intentionally making it difficult for Ran Xing.

Normally, auditions follow an order from easy to difficult, but Ye Wenjun directly asked Ran Xing to perform the most emotionally intense scene without any preparation.

After receiving the script, Ran Xing quickly went through it several times, memorizing every plotline. Upon hearing Ye Wenjun’s words, he remained composed and politely bowed, saying, “Alright, then I’ll begin.”

Lin Hanchuan focused on watching Ran Xing and Zhou Xishan sitting beside him also straightened his posture.

TV and film shots are different. Film shots have a wider perspective, elongating the actors’ figures and facial features. People with slightly larger faces or a bit of weight gain may still appear fine on TV, but if it’s a film shot, it can be considered disastrous.

In TV shots, Ran Xing was stunningly handsome, and Lin Hanchuan had always been dissatisfied with his slim figure. But in film shots, it was just right. The unique texture of the film enhanced his beauty, giving it a sense of depth.

Without saying a word, Ran Xing lowered his head, looking at the ground. His Adam’s apple trembled slightly as he slowly knelt on the ground, his fingertips uncontrollably trembling.

“He has no tears in his eyes,” Zhou Xishan whispered to Ye Wenjun.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hanchuan turned his head to look at them.

The two directors were completely focused on watching the shot and didn’t notice Lin Hanchuan’s gaze. They exchanged a glance and said, “Yes.”

It seemed like they weren’t completely satisfied… In Lin Hanchuan’s opinion, although Ran Xing didn’t shed tears, this silent grief was more infectious than wailing.

While he was contemplating, Ye Wenjun continued speaking.

“This style of performance is very advanced. Did he really start from scratch?” Ye Wenjun changed his earlier dissatisfaction and asked eagerly.

Zhou Xishan was also amazed and sighed, “Perhaps it’s because he hasn’t undergone systematic training that he has such abundant emotions.”

Lin Hanchuan couldn’t help but smile, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride.

Afterward, they auditioned two more scenes, and Ran Xing performed exceptionally well in both. Ye Wenjun and Zhou Xishan were very satisfied, and they immediately confirmed that Ran Xing would be the male lead in «Wukong», even taking the official portrait.

When they came out of the production set, Ran Xing looked back at the crew, unable to hide his excitement. “President Yan, I passed the audition!”

Ran Xing appeared mature beyond his years. It was the first time Lin Hanchuan had seen such a vibrant and lively expression from him. “Good job. What reward do you want?”

Ran Xing’s excited steps paused for a moment. He hesitated for a while before tentatively saying, “Can you… buy me an ice cream?”

Perhaps fearing rejection, Ran Xing hastily added, “That’s the reward I want.”

The person Ran Xing had always envied as a child was his deskmate.

His deskmate was a girl who tied her hair into two pigtails. Her clothes were always clean and neat, and she would use rubber bands of different colors to tie her hair every day. The colorful bows at the ends of her hair fluttered, just like the lively Peppa Pig1huh? o.o, making her look lively.

The first time Ran Xing saw her, he knew that this girl was different from him.

After school, her father or mother would come to pick her up at the school gate. The girl would jump into their arms like a butterfly, pestering them to buy various snacks from the shops near the school.

Her parents usually wouldn’t refuse, except for ice cream.

Only when the girl performed exceptionally well in her exams and received praise from her teacher would her parents reward her with ice cream. In Ran Xing’s impression, ice cream became synonymous with “reward.”

As he grew older, Ran Xing could buy ice cream for himself. He told himself that he didn’t envy others.

But… the ice cream he bought for himself and the one someone else bought for him were always different.

Lin Hanchuan was somewhat surprised. He didn’t expect Ran Xing’s wish to be so simple and plain.

Seeing Lin Hanchuan’s lack of reaction, Ran Xing forced a smile and said, “Actually, I don’t really…”

Before he finished speaking, Lin Hanchuan strode towards an ice cream shop on the side of the street.

It happened to be the peak hour after work, and both sides of the street were crowded with people. The ice cream shop also had a line. Calmly standing at the end of the queue, Lin Hanchuan asked Ran Xing who was following him, “What flavor do you want?”

“…Strawberry,” Ran Xing answered absentmindedly, lost in thought.

After a while, he suddenly snapped back to reality, looking at Lin Hanchuan, who was in line to buy him ice cream and blushed with embarrassment. “President Yan, forget it, I don’t really want it.”

Having the CEO of a film and television company stand here buying him ice cream, Ran Xing himself felt it was unreasonable.

He was already an adult, and the persistence he had as a child had long disappeared. He didn’t know why it suddenly resurfaced today. Ran Xing adjusted his mask, feeling fortunate that he was wearing it and couldn’t be recognized.

Without changing his expression, Lin Hanchuan calmly uttered a few words, “I want it.”

Ran Xing was momentarily speechless.

He stared at Lin Hanchuan blankly and suddenly realized that the reason he recalled long-forgotten memories was perhaps because he had experienced warmth for the first time.

This person seemed cold and unapproachable, but deep down, he exuded gentleness. He took care of patients meticulously, looked after his employees, and held onto law and justice in his heart… It was hard not to be attracted by his warmth, like a little beast that had never seen a bonfire.

That’s why his heart would beat faster and why he would unconsciously reveal his weaknesses and dependencies.

Lin Hanchuan bought two strawberry-flavored ice creams and handed one to Ran Xing.

Lin Hanchuan, tall and handsome in appearance, had a cold demeanor, but he held a pink ice cream cone in his hand that seemed out of place. People around them couldn’t help but cast their gazes at him to some extent.

“Someone is secretly taking photos of you,” Ran Xing reminded him.

Lin Hanchuan followed Ran Xing’s pointed finger and saw a short-haired girl quickly move her phone away. He smiled at the girl, who appeared to be underage, causing her eyes to go blank. By the time she regained her senses, the ethereal and handsome man had already disappeared.

After finishing the ice cream, all the things that had accumulated in Ran Xing’s heart for years seemed to have disappeared. He looked relaxed and tossed the paper wrapper into the trash can. When he turned around, he happened to see Lin Hanchuan taking the last bite of the ice cream.

Unable to hold back, Ran Xing laughed, “I thought you said you wanted it just to comfort me, but I didn’t expect you to actually eat it.”

“Why can’t I eat ice cream?” Lin Hanchuan also couldn’t understand and asked in return.

Walking lightly, Ran Xing circled around Lin Hanchuan, carefully examining him from top to bottom several times. He looked serious and said, “You look like someone who should be standing at a cocktail party drinking red wine, and it has to be a Lafite from ’82.”

“I don’t drink red wine,” Lin Hanchuan said.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time. Ran Xing’s smile was exuberant and radiant, and Lin Hanchuan, seeing him so happy, curved his lips in a faint arc.

Thinking about the tragic ending of Ran Xing in the original text and looking at the cheerful and unclouded smile of the boy in front of him, Lin Hanchuan couldn’t help but feel pity for him.

After all, Ran Xing was just a twenty-one-year-old young man.

Thanks to the temporary red hair that Ran Xing dyed today, no one recognized him as a popular movie star. The two of them strolled around the street for a while. While they were laughing and talking, Lin Hanchuan received a phone call.

Ran Xing watched as the faint arc on Lin Hanchuan’s face completely disappeared, and he also stopped in his tracks, feeling an ominous premonition.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Hanchuan carefully chose his words and said to Ran Xing, “You haven’t told me about your background.”

Normally, a film and television company would conduct a background check on an artist before signing them. But Ran Xing’s situation was different from ordinary people’s. Lin Hanchuan only knew about his future but knew nothing about his past.

The lingering expression of contentment on Ran Xing’s face slowly disappeared. He had a calm expression that bordered on coldness as he asked, “What happened?”

After a moment of silence, Lin Hanchuan handed his phone to Ran Xing.

In the video on the phone, a gray-haired and thin old man was sobbing uncontrollably in front of the camera. He looked pitiful, complaining about his young son who had gone astray, dropped out of school, and disappeared for many years. He had finally seen him on television, but this unfilial son dared not acknowledge his own father who was all alone…

When Ran Xing saw the old man in the video, his pupils contracted. After watching the video, he opened the comments.

The power of netizens was immense. They not only discovered that Ran Xing was the famous star who had dropped out of middle school but also found images of him working on construction sites, doing various part-time jobs, and appearing as an extra in various dramas.

The act of not acknowledging his own father angered the netizens. It seemed they had forgotten their favorable impression of Ran Xing from the previous period, and their attitude toward him instantly plummeted.

“I didn’t expect Ran Xing to be like this…”

“Look at the father’s appearance and attire, you can tell he hasn’t been living well. Ran Xing, a big star, actually watched his own father suffer. It speaks volumes about his character.”

“Unfilial son! Heaven will strike him down!”

“I can’t believe I was following a drama with someone like him. Even if «Immortal Swordsman» is good, I’m giving up on it.”

“Boycott scumbag Ran Xing! Let him leave the entertainment industry! Such a person doesn’t deserve to appear in front of the camera!”

“As long as Ran Xing endorses a brand, we’ll boycott that brand!”

Ran Xing quickly scanned through these comments, his expression remaining calm. The only time he showed any reaction was when he saw the old man in the video. Lin Hanchuan took his phone back from Ran Xing, not allowing him to see any more.

The two remained silent for a while, and the atmosphere lost its previous lightness and harmony.

“Tell me, what’s the situation,” Lin Hanchuan spoke first. He was not influenced by the tearful old man in the video, maintaining his calm demeanor as he looked at Ran Xing.

This calmness made Ran Xing feel strangely reassured. He lowered his head and said, “Do you believe me?”

“Compared to the words of a stranger, I believe more in my own judgment,” Lin Hanchuan replied.

Ran Xing remained silent for a long time, suppressing the thin mist in his eyes. When he lifted his head again, he regained the vigilant expression of a young wolf meeting someone for the first time. “That person in the video… is indeed my… father.”

He found it particularly difficult to say the last word. The sweetness of the ice cream from earlier had turned into bitterness, but when he touched Lin Hanchuan’s encouraging gaze within his calmness, it once again became the sweet taste of strawberries.