Xie Jianyuan's eyes darkened. He bent down and gently kissed his lips, lingering over them.
Xu Chun felt every nerve in his brain tighten. Everything around him fell silent, leaving only the sound of intimate breaths lingering in his ears.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he unwittingly relaxed, even taking the initiative to respond to Xie Jianyuan from time to time.
Suddenly, he felt something. His body stiffened, and he instinctively opened his eyes, staring at Xie Jianyuan in disbelief.
The scorching heat reminded him that none of this was a dream.
He hadn't gotten hard during filming, but Xie Jianyuan had!
Xu Chun didn't know how he finished the scene. He got out of bed in a daze, his expression still vacant.
Director Chu was deeply dissatisfied with the second half of the shoot, but when he saw Xu Chun's expression, he realized that something like this might have been too much of a shock for him and that he might need some time to recover. So he held back the reprimand on the tip of his tongue.
Of course, a bed scene like this couldn't involve the actors actually getting it on. It was only staged for the audience using camera angles.
Director Chu watched Xie Jianyuan get dressed and felt he needed to see him in a new light.
He knew about Xie Jianyuan's family background and had assumed he was just a rich young master dabbling in acting. On top of that, his pretty-boy image had given the director a few more preconceived notions about him.
He hadn't expected Xie Jianyuan to have some real ability. He had gotten into character before the more experienced Xu Chun, and he had also performed exceptionally well in the scenes filmed over the past few days, far surpassing other pretty-boy actors his age.
If his company nurtured him well, he could very likely become a second Xu Chun in terms of acting, or even... surpass him.
After thinking it over, Director Chu couldn't help praising him. "Jianyuan, you were excellent just now."
Indeed, the desire and love in his eyes just now had looked real.
Xie Jianyuan said nothing. He simply turned his head and smiled at him as he dressed.
Director Chu had always addressed Xie Jianyuan as Young Master Xie before, with a distant formality that showed he regarded him more as a rich heir than an actor. Now that he addressed him this way, it at least showed that Director Chu acknowledged him as an actor.
Director Chu glanced at Xu Chun, who stood to the side, and patted him on the shoulder. All he said was, "You weren't in good form today. Get yourself back on track afterward, all right?"
A thousand thoughts ran through Xu Chun's mind. He murmured in agreement, then glanced at Xie Jianyuan, who was acting as though nothing had happened, and frowned slightly.
Maybe he really was overthinking it.
It wasn't impossible for things to get out of hand while filming a scene like that. They were both normal men with physical needs. Who could withstand that much friction?
Besides, he had heard senior actors say before that nine out of ten people couldn't help having some kind of reaction while filming such scenes. Thinking of it that way put him at ease.
The mood on set had been tense these past few days because An Huiru had joined the production.
An Huiru was a big-name actress with plenty of connections in the industry. When she lost her temper or acted like a diva, the director turned a blind eye, and the crew members were all on tenterhooks.
Xu Chun was on the phone with Xu Jin. The company Xu Jin had signed with wanted to use the "Xu Chun's younger brother" gimmick to generate buzz. After all, in the current internet age, major talent agencies were putting out all kinds of pretty boys. The market for female fans was saturated, and competition had reached a fever pitch. Without an eye-catching gimmick, it was impossible to stand out.
"Has that person you mentioned been giving you any more trouble lately?" Xu Chun asked, recalling the pretty boy who had spoken ill of him behind his back.
"Come to think of it, he seems to have been behaving himself a lot more lately." Xu Jin sounded curious. "Brother, did you say something to him?"
Xu Chun smiled and said only, "Be more careful. Think things through before you speak or act. There are plenty of people in this industry waiting to catch others making a mistake."
Still worried, Xu Chun gave him a few more words of advice before hanging up. No sooner had he done so than An Huiru's grating shouts and curses rang out from the location tent.
Xu Chun frowned slightly. He wasn't one to meddle, and she was surely scolding an assistant or a crew member again. But the next second, he heard a familiar low, cool voice. He paused in surprise, then started toward the tent.
There was a place inside the tent where the actors could rest. Since they were filming on location, they sometimes ran lines or took breaks inside. When Xu Chun arrived, he saw An Huiru glaring at Xie Jianyuan, her expression hostile.
Xie Jianyuan, however, leaned back in his chair as though nothing were wrong, looking down at his phone. He couldn't even be bothered to spare her a glance.
"What did you mean by what you just said?"
An Huiru's face was dark. She had been scolding a clumsy crew member as usual when Xie Jianyuan unexpectedly looked up and coolly cut in, telling her to take her temper home instead of coming out and making trouble for everyone.
She had been in the business for more than a decade. Ever since she became famous, who hadn't treated her with the utmost respect? Who would dare speak to her like that? She had heard about Xie Jianyuan's background, but didn't know the details. All she knew was that he was a rich heir, so she took him for an ordinary one. Thinking that, she grew bolder.
"What business is it of yours if I scold someone?!" Wearing sunglasses, An Huiru shot Xie Jianyuan a cold glance.
Xie Jianyuan seemed unwilling to argue with her. He merely swiped lazily at his phone screen, one hand resting casually against his cheek. He appeared to be playing a game.
An Huiru's expression darkened. She was about to speak again when a gentle male voice interrupted her.
"What's going on here?"
She looked up and saw that it was Xu Chun. She gave a noncommittal snort but said nothing more. After all, Xu Chun's standing in the industry was respectable enough.
The moment Xu Chun spoke, Xie Jianyuan looked up, gave him a broad smile, and called out, "Brother Chun."
Xu Chun gave a vague hum of acknowledgment. Ever since they had filmed the bed scene, he had felt somewhat awkward facing Xie Jianyuan. Yet Xie Jianyuan seemed entirely unaffected, making Xu Chun wonder whether he was being oversensitive.