CH 14

Chapter 14: Camera Lens

Most celebrities cared a lot about their styling issues. Their clothes were all meticulously selected to hide their flaws and highlight their natural temperament.

In front of the camera, they would only trust tried and true styles that they knew would look good on them. They wouldn’t casually take the risk to try something new.

Plus, this was a popular variety show, so there would be countless pairs of eyes on them. Even something as small as a missing button could be spotted and dragged out by the audience. Being forced to wear some random brand’s clothing line was practically a nightmare.

No matter how popular the brand was, it would be a disaster if it didn’t suit him.

But Gu Qingchi didn't care about what he wore.

In Gu Qingchi's opinion, the suitcase of clothes that Ye Li gave him was no different from the one that the program crew gave him. He didn’t consider it as that much of a penalty.

Gu Qingchi didn't even focus on the clothes themselves, but rather the size of the suitcase. This suitcase was one size bigger than his own, so it was going to be harder to lug around.

The staff breathed a sigh of relief. This kind of request was actually quite unreasonable. The sponsors were naturally happy about it, but the artists were difficult to persuade, especially female celebrities and male idols. Celebrities who relied on their abilities and not their image1 were usually easier to deal with.

But they still needed to pick someone.

Before the guests for this episode had been decided, they had already prepared both male and female sets of one-size clothing. They just needed to pick a pushover to carry out the task.

In any case, Zhou Yingying and Chen Yueran would never accept the task, Huang Hanyu even more so. He made his debut through a talent show. His team placed a great deal of importance on maintaining his image and had already warned the program not to give the task to him.

As for Xie Luyu, he was the only one of the guests who didn’t depend on their looks and image but their real ability. He was invited by the program crew at a very high price. His standing in the industry was too high, so the program crew couldn't make such a request of him.

The sponsors couldn’t be refused, but the program team wasn’t able to find a suitable candidate until they landed on Gu Qingchi. He was a newcomer with no background. Even if he hadn’t arrived late, this task would’ve still been assigned to him sooner or later.

The staff subconsciously glanced at Gu Qingchi.

Gu Qingchi leaned against the back of the sofa as he was sitting, his whole person exuding indolence. For his height, the sofa was a little small, so his legs looked a little awkward.

A set employee pushed the new suitcase over, so Gu Qingchi reached out and pushed his old suitcase over to the employee as well, putting the new one next to him.

He looked as though didn’t care at all. He didn’t seem to notice that, within the room, everyone's eyes had discreetly drifted towards him.

Even the staff member in charge of organizing tasks had noticed that the cameraman’s lens swept across Gu Qingchi several times, far more than what would be usual.

Did he have any idea how eye-catching he was? Did he accept such a task so easily because he knew he would be the most eye-catching individual in the room no matter what?

When the staff looked over, Gu Qingchi was sitting there quietly, shutting his eyes. He was so far away yet they could still see his thick eyelashes as they closed and then opened again. It was as though his eyelashes were sweeping against their hearts, causing their hearts to shake.

His demeanor made his feelings clear: bored, tired, but it was work, so he had to pick up his spirits.

No, he didn't know. He didn't know he was so striking, and he didn't care whether he was striking or not.

But, no matter what, this episode was sure to explode in popularity.

The staff member thought this as he put away the task card in his hand.

"That’ll be it for tonight. Everyone can go back to their rooms to rest."

The group started to head upstairs. Zhou Yingying linked her arms with Chen Yueran and called out to Huang Hanyu with a smile. She pressed her palms together as she playfully begged Huang Hanyu.

"Hanyu ge, come and help me and Ranran move our suitcases."

Then, she turned towards Xie Luyu, her voice teasing.

"I guess we can’t expect Xie ge to help us. He brought even more things than we did. When we finish moving, we’ll come back to help you."

Gu Qingchi was not mentioned from beginning to end, as if he didn’t exist. It was a clumsy but effective strategy. First, she roped in the others. Once they responded to her, then it was equivalent to picking teams.

People were all conformist and weak. When the target wasn’t aimed at themselves, they would act as though nothing was happening. They would even feel happy when the other person lowers themselves to win them over.

To isolate someone was an inevitable thing.

Furthermore, the victim couldn’t outright accuse the other person. After all, no one hurt you or did anything extreme. Aren’t thinking too much into it? Maybe you’re just being sensitive?

Emotional abuse.

Xie Luyu had filmed a movie on the subject. He played a cheerful boy who loved to play basketball, studied well, and smiled like the sun.

Later, he jumped off a bridge, ending his short and brilliant life.

In order to understand the character’s psychology, Xie Luyu had read many cases and related books at that time.

This was a textbook example of the beginnings of emotional abuse. Most people probably had no idea that their initial hostility could become something so colossal, so dangerous.

Xie Luyu couldn’t understand. What’s wrong with holding hands and singing kumbaya? These young people were always getting up to all kinds of nonsense. It was clear that what they needed was to experience a harsh beating from society.

Xie Luyu raised an eyebrow and handled the situation with just a few words. He cut off the first signs of workplace bullying and spoke bluntly.

"No need, I’ll head upstairs separately from you guys. I have xiao2 Chi, he didn’t bring much."

Zhou Yingying said oh. When she spoke again, her hostility had decreased by a lot.

"Then, Xie ge, we’ll be going first. Hanyu ge, if you could please."

Gu Qingchi lugged his suitcase and tagged along at the very back. The two girls were at the front, and then behind them was Xie Luyu.

Huang Hanyu was originally dawdling around with Gu Qingchi, but, when he heard the Zhou Yingying call him, he agreed to her request and then smiled at Gu Qingchi.

"Call me if you need anything. I'll go help them move first, girls don’t have as much strength."

Gu Qingchi nodded flippantly. He didn’t have much of a reaction. He still had his eyes lowered as he did in the beginning, looking a little sleepy.

He had heard too many nice-sounding words. Gu Qingchi wouldn’t take their polite pleasantries seriously.

Huang Hanyu approached him again and whispered.

"Besides the cameramen that are shadowing us, there are also cameras in several places in the house."

This time, Gu Qingchi raised his eyes and looked up. No matter what his intentions were, he would always take the kindness of others seriously.

"Mn, thank you."

Huang Hanyu's eyes lit up.

"Okay, I'll go first."

He walked briskly towards the two girls.

Xie Luyu hung back for a bit and chose to walk side by side with Gu Qingchi.

By the time they reached the staircase, Huang Hanyu and the other two had already headed upstairs.

Gu Qingchi put away the suitcase handle and lifted it up horizontally. Then, he looked over at Xie Luyu. He remembered that Xie Luyu had wanted his help.

He watched Xie Luyu directly carry one suitcase on his shoulder and lift the other with his other hand. Xie Luyu slightly tilted his head to the side. He was tall and looked relaxed, even with a suitcase on his shoulder.

Xie Luyu spoke to Gu Qingchi.

"You go first."

When Gu Qingchi got to his room, he lay down for a while. Just as he was about to go wash up, he realized that there was no toilet or bathroom in the room.

He could only use the public restroom outside of his room. However, it was really only him and Huang Hanyu using it, so it wasn’t so bad.

There were small warm yellow lights on in the corridor. There was a bathroom at the beginning and the end of the hallway.

Gu Qingchi had the room at the very end of the hallway, with Huang Hanyu on one side and a bathroom on the other, but the bathroom’s design didn’t make a lot of sense. The bathroom closest to the two rooms without private bathrooms had no shower.

Only the bathroom at the beginning of the hallway had a shower.

Because he had been lying down for a while, it was very late when Gu Qingchi went to wash up.

When he finished showering, it was already 1:00 in the morning.

Gu Qingchi's hair was still a little wet. He did use a hairdryer, but he didn't have the patience to finish drying his hair.

The ends of his hair were still dripping water.

He was wearing black pants and a white shirt. The shirt was semitransparent, the buttons were all open, and the tie was undone and draped around his neck.

His pants hung loosely on his hips, revealing a beautiful mermaid line.

This was the only set of clothes in the suitcase without a bunch of scattered accessories, presumably to help the guest get used to the clothing style.

Gu Qingchi immediately used them as stay-at-home clothes.

The clothes were well-tailored, and the material was comfortable. They were rather suitable as stay-at-home clothes.

He slowly walked back to his room.

Halfway through, the door to the balcony opened. Xie Luyu stuffed a pack of cigarettes into his pocket as he opened the door and snuck inside. As soon as he looked up, he saw Gu Qingchi.

Damn. 

Xie Luyu immediately turned his head away. He turned his head so fast that he almost twisted his neck.

It was only afterward that he started to wonder, why did he turn his head away?

It wasn’t out of line for Gu Qingchi to dress like this, he wasn’t revealing much, so why does his heart keep pounding?

Xie Luyu’s head was a mess.

Was he too pure?

Impossible, he had never been pure. If it was someone else, he would definitely be on the side whistling at them.

Xie Luyu was currently questioning himself.

Gu Qingchi, on the other hand, passed by him like he was a transparent person.

Xie Luyu suddenly thought of something. He looked up and saw the camera across the hallway.

Xie Luyu was very sensitive to the camera lens. He could tell from a single glance what kind of angle could produce what kind of shot. Following this line of reasoning, he could pretty much tell where all the camera lenses were hidden.

Xie Luyu had counted earlier. He had found thirteen of them in this house so far. The program team had to be insane. Their post-production funds would probably be spent entirely on editing.

He hadn’t cared about it before. After all, he didn’t have any bad angles, so they could film as much as they liked.

Now, he suddenly remembered that there were two cameras placed in the hallway, and Gu Qingchi was about to walk into the camera’s view.

Xie Luyu reached out his hand to stop Gu Qingchi and lowered his voice – there was sure to be recording devices if there were cameras.

“There’s a camera further down the hallway.”

Gu Qingchi stopped and looked up at him. He was a little confused and spoke hesitatingly.

"Then, thank you?"

Xie Luyu started questioning himself again.

Yeah, what's the big deal about a camera? Why should I stop him? He was only showing a little bit of his waist, a little bit of his mermaid line, a little bit of his – fuck, the more he thought about it, the more he thought he needed to stop him.

When this line of thought hit a dead end, Xie Luyu switched tactics and turned to self-persuasion.

The hallway could also be considered a private space. Could a camera be placed in a private space? Obviously not.

Xie Luyu, who had successfully persuaded himself, felt at ease and spoke confidently.

"I don't think it's okay to install a camera in the hallway. Wait a bit."

Xie Luyu walked over assertively, taking off his jacket as he went. Then, he covered the camera with his jacket.

Satisfied, he spoke to Gu Qingchi.

"Okay, good night. See you tomorrow."

Gu Qingchi yawned slowly. Then, he headed back to his room. It was only as he passed by Xie Luyu that he paused and spoke softly.

"See you."

Xie Luyu had a cool crew cut and an eyebrow slit. Even his attractiveness carried a sharp edge to it. At this time, his sharp eyebrows suddenly softened.

With his back against the wall, he bit a cigarette out of the cigarette case. He held it in his mouth for a long time without lighting it.

Footnotes:

1 In Chinese entertainment circle culture, there's a difference between 偶像派(idol catergory) and 实力派(real ability category). Those with "real ability" tend to be those with longer careers and universally recognized ability, like Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Celebrities like boy groups or produce groups would be considered "idols" where they are selling an image and not just their works. ↩

2 Xiao(小). Diminutive for youngsters. ↩