Chapter 14: Drama Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Rattie
“How is it? Did you find out?” Li Fengyi called his a.s.sistant.
“Director Li, I did. It"s just…” The director"s a.s.sistant at the other end of the line hesitated.
“Just what? Make it clear.” Li Fengyi leaned back on the chair and relaxed.
“One of them is a member of the Xia family…”
“Huh? The Xia family…?” Li Fengyi"s eyes darkened and he sat up straight.
“He"s the younger brother of Xia Mujiang, the current head of the family.” The a.s.sistant director explained.
“How could Xia Mujiang have another brother?” Xia Mujiang was the Xia Master"s only son. Xia Qian"an would have to be…
“Xia Qian"an is an illegitimate son… But rumors say that Xia Mujiang is better to him than to others. Xia Qian"an has a higher position in the Xia family than the other illegitimate children.”
While Li Fengyi was listening, he received an email from his a.s.sistant. The Xia family"s position was not dispensable. It might be difficult for him to act.
“And the other one?”
“The other… It"s impossible to find out. I only know that he suddenly appeared beside Xia Qian"an a few months ago, and now he lives in Xia Qian"an"s villa.”
“Mn, you don"t have to worry about it. Go ahead with the preparations.” Li Fengyi then hung up, frowning and thinking. They found nothing? Was his ident.i.ty so mysterious? He could be a bad person—but Li Fengyi"s mind still hadn"t stopped. Those two people were completely in line with his idea of the leading actors of this drama. Regardless of their appearance and temperament or their first impression, they had what he wanted.
“You mean that Li Fengyi of the Li family is investigating Xia Qian"an?” Xia Mujiang"s tone was flat, no emotion could be heard, and his eyes were blank.
“Yes.” a.s.sistant Ji pushed up his gold rimmed gla.s.ses and replied respectfully.
After signing several doc.u.ments, Xia Mujiang continued to talk. “Why?”
“I guess he wants Xia Qian"an in his drama.”
“…”
a.s.sistant Ji saw that the president didn"t speak, so he continued, “Li Fengyi has been preparing a drama recently. The candidates for the two main leads have not been determined. President, how do you want to deal with this?”
“Let him make his own choice.” After Xia Mujiang signed the last doc.u.ment, put down the pen and leaned back. “If he agrees, his ident.i.ty and illness should be kept secret.”
“President? Xia Qian"an, shouldn"t he…? After all…” He had a very severe case of social anxiety disorder.
Xia Mujiang looked up at his a.s.sistant and didn"t speak. If he were the him from back then, he would have made sure Xia Qian"an wouldn"t play the role, but now it was not necessarily a given. His illness was getting better. Plus, the man beside Xia Qian"an, the one named An Jiu… he still hadn"t found out about him—as though he had fallen out of the sky. His ident.i.ty was odd.
The hint of murderous air around him warned that there were definitely dozens of lives on the man"s hands, which made him extremely dangerous. He just didn"t know how Xia Qian"an got to know him and developed that kind of relationship.
This was one of the reasons why Xia Mujiang gave the option to Xia Qian"an.
“I understand, President. I"ll see to it.” Noting that the president looked up, a.s.sistant Ji replied quickly.
Xia Qian"an"s Villa
Mrs. Li knocked on the door and said, “Young Master, someone came to visit.”
Half a minute later, the bedroom door opened. It was An Jiu. The bedroom door was only partly open, and An Jiu stood there expressionless, blocking the view of the bedroom. He was wearing a black bathrobe, and his hair was slightly wet; he probably just bathed. A shadow guard hid in the dark all year round. His clothes covered every part of him besides his face, so his skin was pale, but he had a good figure.
“A visitor?” An Jiu asked.
“They are sitting in the living room now.” When Mrs. Li saw that it was An Jiu who opened the door, her expression did not change and it didn"t stir up her heart. After all… she was used to it now…
“Give them a treat first. I"ll get An"an up.”
“Mn, the breakfast is warm in the kitchen. You can eat it downstairs.” Mrs. Li knew that the two of them would only get after 8 o"clock, so the cooked breakfast was put in a pot and warmed, and they could eat it when they got up.
“Mn.” An Jiu closed the door.
Xia Qian"an felt that his lover was not beside him, so he opened his eyes in a daze and murmured, “Mn… An Jiu…”
“An"an, get up. Someone"s calling.” An Jiu went to the head of the bed and leaned closer to caress Xia Qian"an"s soft hair.
A few minutes later, after washing up and changing clothes, they went downstairs. Even before they got down to the first floor, Xia Qian"an felt that there were intense eyes on him. The unfamiliar gaze and the air around the stranger made Xia Qian"an tense. Xia Qian"an took a step and continued to walk downstairs with An Jiu. He held his hand tightly.
Li Fengyi turned to look at them as they appeared. Xia Qian"an was truly worthy of the Xia family blood. Most of his face was inherited from his mother"s side, and it was exquisite. The Xia family men were all handsome, just oozing testosterone, while Xia Qian"an"s delicate looks were incomparable.
The man next to Xia Qian"an was half a head taller. He had no expression on his cold and handsome face, and his aura was intimidating.
They people stood in harmony, like a pair. Li Fengyi"s eyes moved from their faces to their clasped hands, and his eyes twinkled.
“Just a moment, let us have breakfast.” An Jiu led Xia Qian"an down the stairs, looked at the three people sitting on the sofa, and spoke without changing his expression. In his heart, caring for his master was the most important thing.
“It"s okay. It"s because we came too early. Please eat first.” Li Fengyi smiled kindly.
The a.s.sistant director glanced at the director and looked away. This was definitely not the irritable director he knew, right? What was with that unnatural expression?
Ten minutes later
Xia Qian"an was sitting opposite Li Fengyi. He wanted to do this without speaking.
“The rumors are that Young Master Xia"s guqin skills are very good?” Li Fengyi asked suddenly.
“…Mn." Xia Qian"an looked at him and nodded.
“I wondered if you"d be interested in partic.i.p.ating in one of my dramas?” Li Fengyi said with a smile.
a.s.sistant Ji glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Director, you"re jumping the gun a little. How embarra.s.sing.
“He"s not interested,” An Jiu looked at Li Fengyi and said this with a deadpan. He knew that the actors in this world were equal to the singers in his world. Even though actors were sought after by many people, An Jiu still thought that this profession was too low for his master.
The ancient people"s thinking was still different from that of the modern people. An Jiu"s understanding was one thing, and acceptance was another. Understanding did not mean acceptance.
“Don"t be in a hurry to refuse. Read the script first. I think you will accept it. After all… Your image is very much in line with the setting.” Li Fengyi moved the two copies of the drama on the table towards them.
Xia Qian"an glanced at An Jiu, then took one of them and looked at it. Li Fengyi saw that he started to read the script, and his the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
“This drama can be said to be set in a semi-historical background, but it"s not very accurate. I also plan to shoot it according to the fans" wishes.” Li Fengyi looked directly at the two people in front of him and smiled. “The biggest selling point of the play is that it portrays h.o.m.os.e.xuality.”
“…” Xia Qian"an looked up at Li Fengyi with his big eyes. There was panic and confusion instilled in his gaze.
“That"s why you came to us?” An Jiu looked up and squinted at Li Fengyi, and his murderous intent soared. He investigated the two of them and wanted to use it as a threat? (An Jiu was overthinking it.)
“… No, you"ll see why I"m looking for you after reading the script.” Li Fengyi took a deep breath after a few seconds, suppressing the fear in his heart. His voice was almost shaking. This man was a tough one. He must not be offended. This was the voice in everyone"s hearts except Xia Qian"an"s.
An Jiu reached out to hold Xia Qian"an"s hand rea.s.suringly. Because of Li Fengyi"s words, Xia Qian"an struggled a little while, but was stopped by An Jiu.
So, Li Fengyi was put onto the blacklist by An Jiu, since he made his master uneasy… An Jiu was dissatisfied with Li Fengyi.
A while later, Xia Qian"an calmed down to look at the script, and An Jiu picked up the other book and flipped through it quickly. He finished reading it before Xia Qian"an. After reading it, there was no expression on An Jiu"s face, but there was a huge wave of emotion in his heart. The background plot had something to do with their experience.
To be precise, as a shadow guard, An Jiu knew some of the points in the plot. So… In fact, this was not another world, but it was the future. His previous era had become history. Now he also understood why Li Fengyi came to them. It was about him and his master, though it was a little off the mark.
Just, how did the story between him and his master spread to later generations? Who recorded it? After all, the two of them didn"t have a sense of existence and they were recorded in history books.
“How could there be such a history?” An Jiu"s face had no expression.
“Actually… It"s just a novel written online, not a history.” Director Li explained.
However, the truth was the most unexpected.
“It is said that in history, the son of the prince and the emperor, Xia Hongxuan were a couple…” Li Fengyi couldn"t continue. The look in An Jiu"s eyes was terrible.
“Huh?” An Jiu squinted, the cold aura around his body spread out and the surrounding temperature dropped instantly. Since when was his master and the emperor a pair? Are you kidding me?
“Um… According to the emperor"s historical records, when the emperor was still a prince, Xia"an, the son of the prince, was sent to the eastern palace for several months…” Li Fengyi began to tell them the history. That was the prince"s intention of rebelling. He put his master under house arrest in the eastern palace. How could it be transferred to later generations?