Su Huaiming: "..." This flattery went a bit too far.
The director then calmed down and realized that Su Huaiming's words were inappropriate. He asked in confusion, "Teacher Su, what misunderstanding did you just have?"
Su Huaiming had already prepared his explanation and calmly said, "It's not a misunderstanding, it's a joke. I thought the director really wanted me to film a scene with a life-size cardboard cutout."
The director chuckled. "How could that be? The life-size cardboard cutouts are just the icing on the cake."
Adding flowers to brocade?
Su Huaiming quickly understood the meaning of the word.
He stood in the middle of the grass and saw in the distance that the director had thoughtfully placed a life-size cardboard cutout of Fu Jingfan opposite him.
The cardboard cutout won't be in the shot, but the director felt that having Su Huaiming look at Fu Jingfan's face would make it easier for him to get into character and his performance would be more stunning.
Su Huaiming stared at Fu Jingfan's face, which was faintly reflected on the plastic sheet, and his lips twitched twice. He found the scene extremely eerie.
The director is truly brilliant; his ideas are all incredibly bizarre!
Unable to find a legitimate reason to ask the director to remove the cardboard cutout, and fearing it would arouse suspicion and cause more trouble, Su Huaiming could only hypnotize himself that there was nothing in front of him.
The director didn't notice Su Huaiming's unusual behavior. After everything was ready, he made a gesture to Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in the zone.
He stretched out his hand, and blades of grass gently slid from his palm to his fingertips, like tender lovers, lightly entwining Su Huaiming's fingers. Su Huaiming, however, did not linger, but embraced more blades of grass with his palm.
A gentle breeze lifted the hem of his trench coat, tracing a graceful arc in the air, making Su Huaiming feel lighter as he walked on a road as soft as clouds.
The gentle light of the sunset bathed him, not scorching or dazzling, and his black hair was tinged with the colors of autumn. Orange specks danced on his eyelashes, like a sunset rain falling from the sky.
The staff member was helping with the timing. After seeing the prompt, Su Huaiming's smile froze on his lips, and his expression turned blank.
In the final cut, he is plunged into darkness, looking around in panic, unable to calmly accept the change in his environment, like a frightened little animal, hesitant and afraid to move.
The performance was not flamboyant; it perfectly matched the eight words: cautious and trembling with fear.
The staff, keeping to the perfect time, moved behind the life-size standee of Fu Jingfan and made a gesture towards Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming knew it was time for the next scene of the performance. As if sensing something, he turned to look at the spot the staff member was pointing to.
Upon seeing the life-size cardboard cutout of Fu Jingfan, Su Huaiming almost lost control of his facial muscles, ruining his previous performance.
He quickly composed himself and excitedly rushed towards the life-size standee of Fu Jingfan without any hesitation, as if he were heading towards a feast of love.
The director didn't call "cut" the whole time, so Su Huaiming had no choice but to keep going. Just as he was about to crash into the life-size cardboard cutout of Fu Jingfan, the director finally yelled "cut."
Su Huaiming breathed a sigh of relief and tried to stop, but due to inertia, his body lurched forward. Su Huaiming could only brace himself with his hands against the life-sized standee and turn his body to the left to avoid his entire face being covered in it.
From another person's perspective, Su Huaiming happily ran towards the life-size cardboard cutout of Fu Jingfan, affectionately grasped Fu Jingfan's shoulder, and spun it around in a waltz of love before stopping.
Su Huaiming was unaware of this. When he turned around, he saw a group of staff members behind him giving him doting smiles, and his mouth almost flew to the sky.
Su Huaiming:????
Su Huaiming never mentioned Fu Jingfan on his own initiative, nor did he show any affection for her. However, in just one day of filming, the news of his affection for Fu Jingfan reached the ears of every staff member, and many people even became fans of the couple.
Su Huaiming vaguely sensed that the atmosphere was strange, and he couldn't help but get goosebumps. Fortunately, the filming was over, and he could leave at any time.
The director found working with Su Huaiming very easy and enjoyable, and greatly admired Su Huaiming, repeatedly trying to persuade him to stay, saying, "Teacher Su 've had a long day, and it's already dinnertime. How about I treat you to a meal?"
Su Huaiming shook his head and said, "If I go to the airport now, I can still get back today; otherwise, I'll have to catch tomorrow's flight."
The director let out a drawn-out "Ouch!" and exchanged glances with the people next to him, all of whom looked as if they had just been startled.
Su Huaiming paused for a few seconds before realizing what was happening, and added, "I wanted to go back to sleep early, not to go back to find Fu Jingfan."
"I understand, I understand." The director glanced at Su Huaiming with a knowing look. "Newlyweds, they are indeed quite affectionate."
Su Huaiming: "..." What do you know!
He felt a chill run down his spine from being looked down upon, and couldn't help but rub his arms.
The director didn't try to stop Su Huaiming. When Su Huaiming went backstage to remove his makeup, the two girls looked at him expectantly, but didn't dare to make any requests.
Su Huaiming lacked the self-awareness of a celebrity, but he knew the basic procedures, so he proactively asked, "Do you want autographs?"
The two girls' eyes lit up; they had come prepared. They immediately took out photos from their bags and handed them to Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming lowered his head, carefully signed autographs for the two little girls, and offered his blessings.
The two young makeup artists were stunned when they took the photo and looked at the neat calligraphy on it.
This was the first time they had ever received a celebrity autograph.
As expected of Su Huaiming.
After removing his makeup and changing into his own clothes, Su Huaiming prepared to leave.
The main members of the filming crew came to see him off, and it took them more than ten minutes to say goodbye before Su Huaiming finally got into the car to go to the airport.
Just before boarding the plane, Su Huaiming received a call from his butler.
"Mr. Su, how did the filming go?" the butler asked anxiously. "Did any bad people bully you?"
"..." Su Huaiming chuckled helplessly, "No, everyone has been very kind to me."
The butler's heart finally settled down. He breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "So, Mr. Su, are you planning to return today?"
Su Huaiming nodded. "It's expected to arrive tonight, but a little later."
At this point, Su Huaiming suddenly remembered something and said, "You don't need to wait for me to come back."
The housekeeper retorted, "How can that be? When Mr. Su returned, he found the house deserted, with no one waiting for him. This is my dereliction of duty!"
Su Huaiming could only soften his tone and say, "I usually go to bed early, but it will be very late when I get back this time. I'll probably be very sleepy and just want to go to bed as soon as my head hits the pillow. Besides, you'll probably be asleep by then too. Having you wait for me at the door will disturb each other."
Upon hearing this, the butler immediately understood Su Huaiming's meaning. "Alright, Mr. Su, please make sure you get plenty of rest when you return. If you need anything, just let me know. I go to bed very late."
Su Huaiming nodded and thanked him softly.
The butler suddenly remembered something and said, "It's good that Mr. Su is back soon. Mr. Fu's birthday is on the 4th of this month. After you come back, you can give him a proper birthday celebration."
Su Huaiming was stunned.
The 4th of this month?!
He looked at his phone in disbelief; the screen showed that today was the fourth.
Was it really that sudden?!
Su Huaiming was quite surprised and was about to ask again when a flight attendant came over and politely reminded him, "Sir, the plane is about to take off, please turn off your phone."
For safety's sake, Su Huaiming didn't ask any more questions and immediately turned off his phone.
He had been filming all day and was completely exhausted. After the plane took off, he couldn't help but fall asleep. When he woke up again, the plane had already landed.
After getting off the plane, Su Huaiming immediately turned on his phone, wanting to contact the butler, but the call couldn't get through.
He wanted to ask others, but found that among Fu Jingfan's close friends, he only knew the butler and had no one else to contact.
Having exhausted all other options, Su Huaiming turned to Baidu for help.
Baidu has all sorts of information, but there's very little information about Fu Jingfan, not even his birthday.
Someone of Fu Jingfan's stature would certainly have a very comprehensive Baidu Baike, but Fu Jingfan completely different, which is probably intentional on his part.
Having no one else to ask, Su Huaiming could only helplessly put down his phone.
If today were truly Fu Jingfan's birthday, the butler would definitely have made preparations in advance and would never have only told him on the day itself. However, he did hear today's date on the phone.
Could it be... that the butler saw he'd been too busy lately and wanted him to rest, so he didn't thoughtfully tell him?
Or perhaps you wanted to surprise him?
Su Huaiming's mind was filled with questions, but he couldn't find the answers.
When he returned to the villa, it was already 11:30 p. m. Everyone had gone to their rooms to rest, and the living room was dimly lit with only a small lamp on.
Su Huaiming told his five assistants to go rest, then took off his coat and tiptoed upstairs.
As expected, the light in Fu Jingfan's study was still on.
Su Huaiming stood at the door, pondered for a few seconds, and then hesitantly knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Through the door, Fu Jingfan's deep, magnetic voice could be heard.
Su Huaiming pushed open the door and went inside.
Fu Jingfan was dressed as usual, the dim light shining on his sharp, sculpted features, without softening his contours in the slightest.
Fu Jingfan's gaze remained fixed on the documents as he said in a familiar tone, "You're back."
Su Huaiming was somewhat surprised that Fu Jingfan knew it was him without even looking. He pursed his lips, unsure how to ask, and simply responded softly.
The pen nib glided smoothly across his fingertips, making a soft rustling sound. Fu Jingfan looked up at Su Huaiming, his eyes pitch black, unlit even by the warm light, like a black vortex that could suck Su Huaiming's soul into it.
Su Huaiming instinctively sensed a hint of danger and frowned slightly.
Fu Jingfan naturally withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes to look at the documents, and said, "Sit down for a while, I'll be right back after I finish reading these."
Su Huaiming nodded. He had brought Fu Jingfan late-night snacks many times before and was very familiar with the layout of the study. He sat down on the small sofa next to him.
As he pondered how to approach Fu Jingfan, he suddenly caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye.
Fu Jingfan's study was large, but only the desk lamp was lit, and the warm light couldn't illuminate the entire space. The furnishings behind the small sofa were hidden in darkness.
The bright moonlight peeked through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating one side of the wall and the black gift box on the table.
The gift box is square and elegant, understated yet luxurious, tied with a red ribbon, making anyone who sees it immediately think of a gift.
Su Huaiming had initially thought he had misheard, but after seeing the gift box, his opinion wavered.
Is today really Fu Jingfan's birthday?
Just as he was racking his brains but couldn't find an answer, Fu Jingfan walked over and stood tall in front of Su Huaiming. The warm light was blocked by his figure, and the shadow he cast almost completely enveloped Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming raised his head and stared blankly into Fu Jingfan's eyes.
Fu Jingfan was too shrewd and calculating, making him impossible for Su Huaiming to fathom.
Fu Jingfan didn't choose to sit opposite Su Huaiming, but instead squeezed onto the same small sofa with him. He sat in a languid posture, his neck resting against the back of the sofa, his long legs naturally spread apart, a rather unrestrained sitting position.
Fu Jingfan closed his eyes, rubbing his temples with his fingers, his expression revealing his exhaustion.
Compared to the beginning, Fu Jingfan showed more of himself in front of Su Huaiming, which was very different from the cold and aloof iceberg image he had at the beginning, and he was no longer... too serious.