CH 58

Ye Li was a very sharp person. Others might see the trending list and give it a chuckle, but Ye Li needed to give these kinds of things more thought.

He was also very swift when it came to taking action. Thus, he went ahead and gave Gu Qingchi a call. 

“You’re just close with Xie Luyu. There’s nothing else going on, right?”

It was currently about 9:40 AM.

Gu Qingchi was at home. He’d just woken up and was still a little drowsy. He laid horizontally across the sofa, still wearing his pajamas.

The pajamas were a deep red color. They looked like they were made of silk, but they were much softer to the touch. The exposed skin looked even paler in comparison. In fact, it looked rather glamorous. 

He was like a rose that had bloomed for too long. The aroma was overly strong. Just as it’s about to whither, it’ll use up all it has left to bloom in full flower one last time.

A pair of fluffy slippers were carelessly thrown onto the carpet. His short hair had grown out a little bit by now. It curled a bit at the ends.

His entire person seemed a little indolent. The two uppermost buttons of his pajamas were open, revealing a little bit of his collarbone.

After putting his phone on speaker, like always, he set it down on the coffee table.

Xie Luyu was cooking congee in the kitchen.

Gu Qingchi turned his head to the side. He had a steaming cup of milk cupped in his hands. The cat was nestled against him, tucked into his waist. His entire person was languid and relaxed. When he heard what Ye Li was saying, his eyes widened a bit in surprise.

Once he spoke, his voice was still a little hoarse from having just woken up. His tone was very calm and mild.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry, I remember what you told me. Don’t get in a relationship.” 

Actually, it was best not to, but, if he were, it’d be best to be low-key about it. Ye Li thought this to himself. Then, he began to get down to business.

“You’ll be joining the film crew in a couple more days. They’ll probably be moving along fairly quickly. They plan on capturing backdrops done during this time. You’d better take a look at the character as soon as possible and get yourself used to the role.”

“Mn.”

Ye Li was still a little uneasy. Although he had never acted before, he had a pretty good grasp on what it entailed. He also had the script in his hands, so he started giving Gu Qingchi some pointers. 

Gu Qingchi’s new project wasn’t a small project by any means, whether it was regarding the director or the actors.

The director was the internationally renowned director responsible for the romance movie of the century, Slater. The film crew was very multinational. The director was from the United Kingdom. The male and female leads were both from the United States.

Gu Qingchi was the only one on the crew from China. His role could be considered the third male lead, but Ye Li had hesitated for quite a while before accepting this role. This was due to the delicate nature of this role’s characterization.

However, it wasn’t easy for Ye Li to get his hands on this role. 

At first, they just wanted a guy with black hair to express that gloomy feeling. Later, they were inspired to find a guy with black hair and black eyes. Thus, they decided to recruit an actor from China.

There were a lot of excellent actors in China. Many actors from the previous generation had become legendary in their own right. The current generation of actors also had Xie Luyu, who had been crowned Movie Emperor. Promising new actors were emerging one after another.

Since the competition was so fierce, even if a lot of people were on the fence due to the characterization of the role, Ye Li still needed to use a lot of connections to get the role.

Xie Luyu could naturally turn up his nose to this kind of role. 

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“Is your new film going to start filming? How do you feel?” 

Gu Qingchi answered each question one by one.

“Yeah, I’ll be joining the crew in a couple of days. I don’t really have a good feel for this role.”

Xie Luyu had listened to a bit of the phone call just now.

He had a general idea of what was up. 

This character was completely different from Gu Qingchi.

He was a naturally emotional character. Every negative emotion in the world could be found within him—jealousy, greed, arrogance, lust.

A Latin dancer. He was selfish, endlessly chasing after pleasure, indulging himself in the electric music and the sensation of skin against skin.

He was born with the ability to use his excellent conditions to his advantage. He didn’t even bother trying to hide his self-indulgence. 

His life was full of superficial glitz and glamour. In the end, he walked straight towards his demise like fireworks in the sky.

Xie Luyu thought for a while.

“This role has a bit of depth to it. He’s a hedonist. You might not have met a person like this before, so you probably don’t have a very clear image for this character. However, this role has too many negative emotions involved in it. Don’t force yourself into the character’s headspace. You can just use body language to emphasize it a bit.”

“Like this.” 

Xie Luyu was originally leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hand. He’d been speaking with Gu Qingchi in a very serious manner.

Now, his entire demeanor had changed. His eyes and brows were full of a youthful and dissolute recklessness. His arms were slung across the back of the sofa, and he was lazily looking off into the distance. You could almost imagine what kind of rotten scene he was looking at just from his demeanor alone.

There was a carousing crowd in the distance, girls were dancing, limbs were entangled in the frenzy of music, the whole world was reveling in the noise. He looked very much at ease, as if he was the king.

Then, the act ended. He immediately went back to his normal appearance. 

“It’s all about your demeanor and movements. You just need to act it out.”

Xie Luyu emphasized this. He still remembered the last time he had filmed with Gu Qingchi. Gu Qingchi tended to get too far into the play.

Xie Luyu spent the next couple of days analyzing this character with Gu Qingchi. They practiced how to move and what expressions to make over and over again.

Normally, Gu Qingchi should be experiencing the character for himself, but Xie Luyu couldn’t help feeling uneasy about this kind of role, so much so that it almost seemed that he was overcorrecting. He focused entirely on movements and demeanor. He didn’t touch on the character’s emotions at all. 

The filming was going to take place abroad this time. Most of the scenes would be shot within a ballroom in a small town.

Xie Luyu originally wanted to follow along since he didn’t have anything better to do, but Gu Qingchi refused.

It wasn’t just this that was rejected. When Xie Luyu proposed to send him off, Gu Qingchi refused again. His wagging tail immediately started drooping down.

Thus, he glumly started packing Gu Qingchi’s suitcase. He wanted to stuff everything he could into it. 

However, he was actually quite good at tidying up. The clothes were folded neatly. He even managed to sneak some snacks into the gaps.

If Gu Qingchi were packing his suitcase himself, he would’ve only been able to fit a few pieces of clothing in there. However, Xie Luyu managed to pack several sets of clothes, casual wear, and a set of pajamas. He also managed to stuff a bag full of snacks in there, as well as all kinds of accessories.

The only person Gu Qingchi brought with him was Xiao Ke. Film crews generally didn’t like it when actors brought too many people with them.

It had already been a couple of days since they arrived. The crew was nice and friendly. It was pretty easy for Xiao Ke to get familiar with them. 

There hadn’t really been anything going on.

At noon, Xiao Ke was suddenly notified that the director wanted to see Gu Qingchi.

Xiao Ke was eating at the time. She put down her food and stood up.

“I’ll go get him. He’s in his room right now.” 

The person who had notified her was the male lead, Allen. He was a very famous actor. He was also a very gentlemanly person. His beautiful blue eyes were very recognizable. There was a bit of a stubble on his chin. He very much exuded the charm of a mature man.

Despite the scarf around his neck, he was still wearing jeans.

“Alright. I’ve finished eating, so I’ll go.”

The atmosphere on set was very casual. They didn’t have very many people, so, sometimes, even the leads were called over to help out. 

Everyone was pretty familiar with each other.

The only exception was Gu Qingchi. He had been holing up in his room for the past few days due to jet lag.

“No, you keep eating. I’m already done. I’ll go. I’m just here to make sure that he’s in his room.”

Xiao Ke’s heart immediately dropped. Gu Qingchi probably still hadn’t woken up. 

It wasn’t just because of the jet lag. Even if there wasn’t any jet lag, Gu Qingchi would probably still be out like a light.

Xiao Ke’s English wasn’t perfect. She didn’t even get two sentences out before the colleague that she was eating with stopped her.

“Take it easy and enjoy the food. Let them do their own thing.”

Xiao Ke tried to convince herself that it would be fine. Allen had a good temper. Everything would be fine as long as it wasn’t that moody director. 

Unbeknownst to her, Allen ended up calling someone else up.

“Slater, come on. He’s in his room. Let’s go meet our third male lead.”

Slater was the director of the film. His room could be considered somewhat of an office. His door was always open. Allen called out to him, so he walked out of his room.

Slater was well-dressed and wore glasses. He was tall and thin, and his eyes were very sharp. He looked like your typical, run-of-the-mill Brit. 

Allen knew him very well.

“Don’t be too serious when we meet him. Be a little gentler.”

Slater’s vicious tongue had always gotten a little more attention than his talent. He spoke quickly but clearly.

“Since when have you cared about this sort of thing? If I remember correctly, you’re an actor, not a stagehand.” 

Allen shrugged. He was already used to him.

“I’m just hoping that you won’t take your anger out on an innocent person. I know you have a lot of opinions about this character, but the investors chose him.”

“Hey, let’s just get one thing clear, he was the one who grabbed onto the investors first. He’s got skill, I’ll give him that.”

Allen was still as good-natured as ever. 

“It could’ve been his agent. It’s not like this is your first time seeing this sort of thing.”

Slater was unmoved.

“I’ll make my own judgment of that, Allen.”

“Alright, alright.” 

By the time they had finished talking, the two of them had already arrived. Allen went up and knocked on the door first.

“Excuse me. Sorry to bother you. I’m from the film crew.”

There was the sound of a cup falling onto the carpet. Then, there were rustling noises.

However, it didn’t seem like the person inside was in a hurry. Rather, it seemed as though the person had knocked over a cup but didn’t really care. He was still leisurely doing his thing. 

Slater was getting a little impatient.

Just as Allen was about to knock one more time, the door opened.

First came a burst of warm air. It was clear that the person inside was very afraid of the cold. The heater had been kept on the entire time.

It was also mixed with the fragrance of the hotel room. 

Then, the door was opened all the way. Gu Qingchi casually leaned against the doorframe.

He was wearing pajamas. He walked out of the room barefoot. One pant leg was rolled up, revealing a slender calf. His short hair was slightly wavy.

His back wasn’t as straight as it usually was. Instead, it had a bit of a natural curve to it. His entire person seemed a little indolent.

Allen’s hand paused in midair. He completely forgot what he had come here to do. It was as if his tongue was tied. He stammered out an introduction. 

“Hey. I’m Allen.”