Chapter 44 - I’ve got this Celebrity’s back (4)
Chapter 44: I’ve got this Celebrity’s back
The ice cream looked really good. It hadn’t melted at all.
The weather was so hot and the lunch box didn’t look as if it had any temperature preservation function. When he had gone out, he had deliberately checked the contents of the backpack and he knew all the things it contained.
The only possible explanation was that it had been snuck in while he was filming just now.
He didn’t consider at all the possibility that it could have been done by someone around him. He remembered Lu Qingzhou’s words on the phone, “I’ll come look for you later.” Gu Xi’s heart jumped. He sat up and looked around.
The sunlight was dazzling, and there were a lot of people but he couldn’t immediately spot that bright and recognizable figure.
The crew was very sensitive about anyone taking sneak shots. It mustn’t have been easy for Lu Qingzhou to get it. But considering his skills that was so incongruous with his appearance, it seems that it might not be entirely impossible.
Remembering how he’d been moved to the bed last night completely without realizing it, Film Emperor Gu felt that things weren’t that simple. Deeply worried, he dug out a large mouthful of ice cream and brought it into his mouth in full view of everyone.
The distinct refreshing coolness dissolved in his mouth.
The taste was not too sweet and the texture was unexpectedly fine and smooth. It also had a captivating aroma of wine. The slightly frozen snow pears were also soaked in red wine. The flesh of the fruit was soft and tender while the juice was refreshing and sweet. It immediately alleviated the hot swelling pain in his throat.
Gu Xi couldn’t hold back and took two more mouthfuls. The refreshing coolness slid down his throat and most of the uncomfortable heat dissipated from his body.
The site manager took the missing parasol over and while setting it up for him couldn’t help but sneak a look at the ice cream.
The filming site was remote and empty and people without any business being there weren’t allowed to enter. If you want to buy something, you would have to drive to the city a few kilometers away; especially if it was for something like this frozen treat that was essential for beating the summer heat.
The cast and crew were here to shoot a movie; not to go on a vacation. Having some iced sweet-sour plum juice was already considered pretty good treatment.
Gu Xi has become accustomed to hardships when filming and he didn’t think that this kind of treatment was all that unbearable. There were a few teen idols who already couldn’t stand it. They had a.s.sistants standing by their sides, spraying water while having the electric fans turned on. They even brought large thermos jugs filled with herbal tea for relieving the heat. Now, not a single one of them wasn’t greedily eyeing his ice cream as their mouths watered.
In the past, Gu Xi habitually sh.e.l.led out his own money and asked his a.s.sistants to buy things, which Gu Xi always gave out generously, but in the end he couldn’t even get a parasol.
Looking at the obviously carefully hand-made ice cream inside the lunch box, Gu Xi raised the tip of his eyebrow. From out the corner of his eye, he glanced at all the people who were staring at his ice cream and he put another spoonful into his mouth. He sat back under the umbrella, casual and relaxed.
Then watch.
He wasn’t going to give anyone what his little paparazzo made for him.
…
The set needed to be changed for the next few scenes and it was still being set up. Under the gaze of the entire crew, Film Emperor Gu ate spoon after spoon of ice cream. He leaned back against the recliner comfortably. He had his eyes closed as the little fan blew and raised his spirits.
In the next few scenes, no one except Gu Xi was able to shoot well.
The serving of ice cream wasn’t small. Gu Xi lay back under the umbrella and ate happily. Occasionally, he would eat a piece of cut fruit. He did all this quietly, without disturbing anyone. Yet despite that, more than half of the crew that been provoked by his actions into feeling ill at ease.
When everyone was in the same boat, things didn’t feel so uncomfortable. Now that there was suddenly someone eating ice cream and chilled fruits while being cooled down by a little electric fan, the originally oppressively-bright, windless weather turned even more unbearable.
“It’s so hot. Stop shooting!”
After getting NG four or five times in a row, Zhou Tong impatiently dropped the props and slammed the script forcefully against his a.s.sistant. “Can’t you do anything? Are you just going to watch me die from the heat here!”
“I’m sorry, Brother Zhou. We weren’t well prepared. We’ll be sure to be ready next time…”
The a.s.sistants were frightened by his admonishment and hurriedly went to get him some iced coffee from the thermos. But Zhou Tong pushed it away and shouted angrily, “What’s the use of this thing! Can’t you see? Some people don’t even have a single a.s.sistant but are still so comfortable. Even more comfortable that those of us here who are supposedly being waited upon. — Of what use are you?! Tomorrow, maybe I should also fire all of my a.s.sistants!”
He hadn’t restrained his voice and a lot of people, following his words, turned to look. Seeing that there was indeed no one following Gu Xi, they lowered their heads, each with a different expression. Whispers could be heard all around.
Gu Xi didn’t raise his head. He just fiddled with his lunch box and tried pressing on the lid. A burst of cool mist hit his face with a puff.
Zhou Tong was a junior from the same company as Gu Xi. He was also someone Gu Xi had brought in at the beginning. Later on, he hugged Fang Kun’s thigh and thus began his meteoric rise. He’s had continuous promotional activities for the past two years. Thanks to some big time dramas he has managed to firmly establish himself in the front lines; a true and proper popular celebrity for drawing in viewers.
Among the people who deliberately tried to make things difficult for him today, it was impossible that Zhou Tong didn’t have his share in it too. His sudden uncalled for outburst of rage was obviously not just because he had no ice cream to eat.
The a.s.sistant was so overwhelmed by his scolding that he couldn’t help but to apologize repeatedly and hurried to call people to buy some frozen treats from the city and send them over. Zhou Tong hadn’t vented enough of his anger. He was about to point at the mulberry tree and curse the locust tree, shouting a few more words when Gu Xi already adjusted his clothes and got up, walking towards the director.
When he got up, the whole set turned quiet.
“Mr. Gu-is there something you need? You can just tell us and …”
The director quickly straightened up from behind the camera. Rubbing his hands nervously, he hurried forward to meet him.
The director for this drama was surnamed Li. His full name was Li Renyi and he was turning forty this year. Without Liang Yuan’s talent, his professional level was really average. He has filmed more than a dozen movies but he couldn’t even make a splash.
This time, after taking on this investment-rich shoot, Li Renyi, drawing lessons from bitter experiences, gritted his teeth and spent a lot of money to invite a lot of a lot of the popular stars known to draw in traffic. Sure enough, the exposure really did follow.
These people brought in the traffic but they were also bombs that would explode at the slightest touch. Li Renyi didn’t dare to provoke any of them. He spent all day long on the tip of his toes. He coaxed one after another but he seemed even more frightened than these actors.
Gu Xi stood still in front of him and waved his hand, a gentle expression on his face. “I think I’m having a bit of a heatstroke. Given the progress of the shooting, looks like my scenes will have to be shot in the afternoon. I’ll go to the lounge and lie down for a bit, is there anything you still need?”
Although he had no bad intentions, as the core of the entire crew, a director who can neither control the filming process nor restrain the actors, and cannot control even the most basic trend of public opinion, was regarded to be equal to having committed the original sin.
Gu Xi was unlikely to fall afoul of such a director who was thoroughly incapable of supporting the crew at all. However, he wouldn’t have any favorable impression of him either.
He still had two more scenes that needed to be filmed. Both of these scenes had him acting with other actors. Right now, he could only wait for them to finish filming. According to the schedule, these scenes should all have been shot in the morning. He should be out there basking in the sun along with the others.
However, given the situation, even if he says he wants to go back, these people won’t have too many objections.
Seeing Gu Xi holding up half a box of ice cream while speaking so casually about having a heatstroke, many of people’s eyes already began blazing with anger. The only thing they could do was to look away; what the eyes don’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve. They hope he would leave as soon as possible so as not to make other people jealous.
Though considered as being slightly above all the other big-ticket names on set, only Gu Xi would inform him first before doing anything. Li Renyi was easily flattered and he nodded. “Of course. Of course, it’s fine. Go and rest. I’ll asked them to turn on the air conditioner for you…”
Hearing ‘air conditioner’, Zhou Tong finally couldn’t help it and he flung the thermos mug to the ground.
Ignoring the different reactions of the people behind him, Gu Xi’s lips curved up. He thanked him and walked back to the lounge with his things.
Doing monologues was a lot more demanding on an actor to bring emotions into play. It was also a lot more physically demanding that when filming with other actors. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t feeling tired. Looking at the state of those people, even if the director didn’t dare to reprimand them and was being very lenient towards them with regards to the filming, it still seems that all of the scenes this morning were going to be NG.
He might as well go back and rest.
Gu Xi bowed his head and walked forward, minding his own business. Thinking of the phone call yesterday, the light in his eyes gradually grew cold.
Those so-called irrefutable evidence of him ‘playing diva’ were mostly contrived by people who had never enjoyed special treatment. When one reaches a certain level, there was no need for you to demand anything. These privileges would be sent to you as a matter of course.
Although the company criticized him harshly, the film crew on site did not dare deny the strength of his reputation. In the past ten years, no matter how amiable he was, refusing to argue with others, refusing to compete with others, he was still indisputably treated like the moon all the stars cup themselves around.
The entertainment industry he was familiar with respected strength. This word “teacher” carried with it actual value and importance. If your acting wasn’t any good, no matter how big of a celebrity you were, the director would still point at you and curse you til you couldn’t lift your head. But if you were able to do a splendid performance in just one take, even if you to act like a hoodlum on the set, others can only ever praise you as being inordinately proud of your ability.
When people started calling him “teacher”, many of the actors here still hadn’t even embarked on their careers. Given his seniority, if he wanted to leave, no one here had the right to stop him.
They accused him of being self-important. Then, in that case, he might as well let them see what that was like.
*
The lounge was a bit of a distance away from the shooting site and so, it was much more peaceful and quiet. Gu Xi returned to the lounge, locked the lunch box in his refrigerator and lay down on the sofa bed.
It was close to noon but he still didn’t have any appet.i.te. Gu Xi unb.u.t.toned the top two b.u.t.tons of his shirt and closed his eyes, letting the air conditioner blow cold air over him. He lay down for a while and unconsciously began to feel sleepy.
The cast and crew was a mix of fishes and dragons and he stayed only half-asleep. While dazed, he noticed someone pushing the door open. He was suddenly alert and he instantly sat up. “Who’s there!”
The other party stopped and looked at him.
The visitor was wearing the crew uniform, which seemed to be somewhat ill-fitting on him. He was carrying a bag of something in his hand. Following his voice, the other raised his head and revealed sleek black eyes that carried a smile in them.
“Qingzhou?”
Gu Xi’s mood brightened instantly. He jumped up from the sofa and quickly walked over. “You’re really here…when did you come here and where were you?”
“I came here this morning to take pictures. I just turned on the air conditioner.”
Lu Qingzhou revealed the camera he had hidden in his clothes. His eyes bent into crescents. He pulled him to sit down and he pa.s.sed over the bag that he was carrying. “Was the ice cream delicious?”
“It was delicious. I locked up the rest.”
Seeing him appear, the sulks that he felt was immediately swept away. Gu Xi nodded with a smile. He took in the other’s handsome figure hidden under the baggy overalls and said, a bit exasperated, “Why didn’t you tell me if you wanted to join the crew? Isn’t it hot wearing this?”
It was a common occurrence among the crew for paparazzi to apply as temporary unskilled workers on set. Paparazzi would even bribe their way in so that they could take their pictures first hand.
Gu Xi had guessed that Lu Qingzhou would use this method. However, he couldn’t find him. He thought that Lu Qingzhou had already left. He never expected that he would also get lunch.
Lu Qingzhou obediently sat down next to him. Given the weather, wearing the worker’s overalls was a bit hot. His hair was blown into a bit of a mess and a fine layer of sweat covered his forehead.
Gu Xi grabbed some paper towels and pulled the person over, wiping his sweat for him.
Although he could have relied on the Gu Xi to get in, being a paparazzo wasn’t a proper job, after all. If news of it spreads, it would cause trouble for Gu Xi.
Without answering his previous question, Lu Qingzhou leaned forward docilely, letting him wipe his sweat. “It’s not hot.”
Gu Xi’s hand stopped momentarily in the middle of his forehead. The other’s hair looked so soft to the touch that he couldn’t help touching it with his fingers. He got up to take out the remaining ice cream. “Come. Let’s eat together.”
Lu Qingzhou’s eyes widened slightly upon seeing that he actually took out the ice cream that he had locked up in the refrigerator. A restrained smile appeared in his eyes. “I made a lot. Enough to share.”
Knowing Gu Xi’s habit among the crew, he’d been afraid that the other party would pa.s.s it around to share and wouldn’t have enough to eat. And so, he deliberately made a lot more ice cream; enough that if he ate it all himself, he would wind up with a stomachache.
He hadn’t expected that Gu Xi would leave behind the entire box.
Early that morning, he had rushed back to the laboratory in the main world to make that lunch box full of ice cream. He had the system help him get a set of overalls and then he rushed back to the shooting site and quietly stuffed the lunch box in the other party’s bag. Lu Deng was very happy and didn’t consider doing these things as any trouble. But seeing him lock that away, the corners of his lips couldn’t help but lift up a little more.
“I didn’t share it.”
Gu Xi shook his head and took the lunch box protectively into his arms. “I won’t share it with anyone. I can eat it all by myself. I like ice cream.”
Looking at his dead serious expression, Lu Qingzhou finally couldn’t help his lips from curving into a smile. The smile in his eyes grew brighter. He took several lunch boxes out of the insulated bag. “Then it looks like I have no choice but to take back with me this black bean noodles that I especially learned how to make……”
It was time for lunch but he knew that Gu Xi wouldn’t have any appet.i.te because of the heat. He came here specially to deliver food to the other party.
Lu Qingzhou laid out the different lunch boxes. The small boxes contained exquisite side dishes. There was well-marinated and refreshing sweet and sour garlic. The diced eggplants were fried soft and fragrant. The pickles were bright, fresh and tender . The noodles had been boiled and drained well. When the lid for the sauce was opened, the tempting aroma immediately burst forth.
Gu Xi: “…”
Gu Xi: “I also like black bean noodles.”
Gu Xi sat back down and raised his hand to take the chopsticks from Lu Qingzhou. However, Lu Qingzhou didn’t let go. He bowed his head with a smile. He mixed the sauce evenly with the noodles for him. He also poured for him a cup of fragrant and icy mung bean soup and put it to one side. “When I arrived, they were giving out ice cream. They haven’t finished filming a single scene yet. So there’s absolutely no need to hurry.”
Speaking of which, it was very strange. Originally, Lu Deng didn’t really know how to cook a lot of things. He learned how to make both the ice cream and mung bean soup from the second world. The only other thing he could do pa.s.sably was to boil noodles. But after buying that Old Driver’s skill pack, he didn’t learn how to drive, but his cooking skills inexplicably went up.
He had made all these dishes according to the recipes stored in the system. The system was still arguing with the mall’s customer service department and hadn’t come back yet. Lu Deng had no idea what was going on.
There were still a few months before Gu Xi was set to meet his accident. It was fine so long as he manages to learn how to drive before then.
Lu Deng was not in any hurry. He made as if to pa.s.s the chopsticks over but when Gu Xi raised his hand to take them, he lifted them up. Deadly earnest, his eyes curved into crescents and he said, “If you give me a hug, I’ll give you a bite.”
Baffled at why he still hadn’t learned how to drive, Lu Deng looked had through his database last night. Sure enough, his driving skill still hadn’t turned on. However, he did find a lot of new content.
Unable to help his curiosity, Lu Deng tried importing it and having a look. He found that many of the new tutorials were very interesting and the effects were ridiculously tempting. He decided to try them one after the other. Right now, he has tried less than one percent.
According to the tutorial, now, the other person should blush.
His first few attempts had gone very smoothly. Lu Deng blinked and stared at Gu Xi’s face expectantly.
As he watched, a smile appeared at the bottom of Gu Xi’s pupils. Gu Xi deftly turned his hand that was reaching for the chopsticks and held Lu Qingshou’s wrist that peeked out from his cuff.
Under the refreshing coolness from the air-conditioner, Gu Xi’s warm palm was like a brand against his cool skin as Gu Xi pulled him in.
With qualifications to attain the t.i.tle of Film Emperor, Gu Xi not only had good looks but also a well-proportioned body with a tall stature and long legs. He also had a distinctive personality. With Gu Xi looking down at him with a smile on his face like this, it was enough to make people subconsciously drown in his soft and gentle eyes.
Lu Deng’s felt his heart make a little jump. He caught his breath and when he looked up at him, he instinctively found himself falling into the other’s seemingly bottomless dark eyes.
This was not what the tutorial said.
There was a faint yet evident smile on Gu Xi’s face. He embraced the other fully into his arms and he let Lu Qingzhou sit on his lap. He lowered his head to his ear, “Can we finish eating it all…just like this?”
He deliberately pressed down on his voice, making it slightly husky. The originally deep and magnetic timbre of his voice carried with it unmistakable gentleness. His soft breath swept across the little paparazzo’s earlobe.
All this, he had managed to learn from experience from hundreds of scene shootings. Though he has never taken on any overly-intimate scenes nor has he ever used this trick on others, now, it seems that his innate talent has not fallen into disuse.
Sure enough, just as he expected, the body in his arms suddenly sat up straight. Lu Qingzhou looked at him, a slightly surprised expression on his face. The base of his ears were suspiciously pink.
Finally, he had managed to wrestle the script back!
The corners of Gu Xi’s lips ticked up. While holding him in his arms, he picked up the bowl of noodles, rolled up some with his chopsticks and fed it to his mouth. “Let’s eat together.”
The temperature of the air conditioner was set very low so it wasn’t hot even when they were close together. Lu Deng leaned into his arm. He opened his mouth to take in the noodles from the chopsticks. He watched as Gu Xi used the same pair of chopsticks to eat with gusto. Lu Deng could not help but quietly press against his own chest.
Having gone through several worlds, he has experienced the other teasing him plenty of times but no time has there been when his heart beat as fast as it did now.
Probably noticing the change in his body data, the system that was still waiting for the response from the mall’s customer service urgently sent a message, “What’s the matter, host? Are you alright!”
This phrase automatically appeared from the many incoming datasets. Lu Deng pursed his lips. Once he understood what the system was asking about, he replied back in his mind.
“I’ve run into some difficulties…”