Chapter 28

On an early autumn afternoon known as "autumn tiger" weather, fragrant fried chicken burgers and ice-cold fizzy cola were naturally far more popular than cheap cafeteria food. Thus, on the first day of filming, the boxed lunches ordered by the crew were neglected.

Smelling the aroma of fried chicken drifting through the set, Fang Kaizhi joked, "If I'd known Second Young Master Wei was bringing food to visit the set, I wouldn't have had the crew order boxed lunches. The money we saved could've bought another half roll of film."

Before he had even finished speaking, everyone burst out laughing. But even amid such a cheerful atmosphere, there was always someone who had to spoil the mood.

Yue Sennan's eyes were bloodshot and his face was ashen as he glared at the burger and cola the assistant had brought over. He shoved her hard with his arm. The young assistant staggered back several steps and nearly fell, while the burger and cola in her hands dropped to the ground.

Yue Sennan acted as though he had not seen any of it. With a dark expression, he stormed off in anger.

The set fell silent at once. Wei Linxuan frowned and called the assistant over. "What happened?"

"I don't know either." The young assistant was inexplicably full of anger. "I didn't say anything. He was the one who started it."

After saying that, she shot Secretary Dong an especially aggrieved look. She had said there was no need to pay attention to such an ungrateful person, but Secretary Dong had said Huaxia Imperial Entertainment was wealthy and magnanimous, and there was no need to stoop to his level and give outsiders something to laugh at. That was why she had gone to bring Yue Sennan a burger and cola. She had not expected Yue Sennan, a major star, to be so careless in public that he would actually lay hands on a girl.

Secretary Dong was an assistant Wei Linxuan's father had specifically assigned to his son, and he had originally been one of Wei Zhanjie's trusted aides. Hearing the assistant's words, he immediately said, "It was my fault. I didn't expect Mr. Yue to actually lay hands on a young lady."

"Are you all right?" Seeing the assistant covering her cola-soaked shirt with an aggrieved expression, Wei Linxuan asked with concern.

The assistant shook her head. "I'm fine. My clothes just got dirty."

"Buy yourself an expensive new one later. File it as a workplace injury expense." Wei Linxuan smiled. Watching the assistant brighten through her tears, he turned to Secretary Dong and said, "It's not your fault either. Who could've expected Yue Sennan to have such poor manners?"

But Yue Sennan should not think he could throw his temper around at Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's people whenever he pleased. Wei Linxuan calmly glanced at the people he had brought. They were not merely Huaxia Imperial Entertainment assistants; they were also the publicity team for Exchanging Lives. He had brought them to visit the set intending to take a few photos of Lu Heng for behind-the-scenes material. Not only would it please viewers, it would also promote Autumn Dew White.

But now, it seemed... he had gained far more than he had expected.

Fang Kaizhi had also noticed the Imperial Entertainment employees with cameras hanging from their chests. He frowned, not particularly wanting Huaxia Imperial Entertainment to expose Autumn Dew White's negative news. But on second thought, Yue Sennan had dared to lay hands on Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's young assistant right in front of everyone. Since things had already been torn apart so thoroughly, what right did Fang Kaizhi have to stop Huaxia Imperial Entertainment from retaliating?

Zhao Miao, who was chewing on a burger, said with a grin, "He might not have been targeting you guys..."

After hearing Zhao Miao's explanation, Wei Linxuan laughed too. Things really were that coincidental, as though it had all been arranged beforehand.

The two clinked their iced colas together. Wei Linxuan laughed without restraint. "Looks like we're pretty in sync!"

"I think so too."

Watching the two of them huddle together and smile like big-tailed foxes, Lu Heng could not imagine how, in his previous life, they had been bitter enemies.

Life really was full of strange coincidences.

After lunch, everyone went to rest and prepare themselves to shoot the afternoon's first scene in peak condition.

Wei Linxuan dragged Lu Heng into a break room and pointed at the young assistant Yue Sennan had shoved earlier, as well as another young man with a camera around his neck. "These are the assistant and publicity staff the company found for you. Let them stay with the crew and look after you, so you won't have to handle every little thing yourself."

Lu Heng smiled. "I won't be filming with this crew for many days. There's no need to trouble them."

"Having an assistant take care of you is so you can devote all your energy to acting. What's troublesome about that?" Wei Linxuan paid no mind to Lu Heng's refusal. "It's settled, then. I came to see you because there's something else."

During the three months Lu Heng had been in closed training, the first season of Exchanging Lives had successfully finished airing. Many viewers had originally tuned in for Lu Heng, but were later drawn in by the production team's raw filming style, which pursued authentic records of real life. Gradually, they became loyal viewers of Exchanging Lives.

The divide in education and culture between urban and rural areas shown in the program, as well as the various social conflicts encountered during the exchange of identities between urban and rural teenagers—conflicts intensified and magnified before the cameras—also drew widespread public attention and active discussion from all walks of life.

What was the purpose of education? What was the true meaning of education?

How should the media demonstrate its social responsibility?

Because of Lu Heng's righteous intervention, Exchanging Lives had been cloaked in concern for disadvantaged groups from the very beginning of its broadcast. The heavy sense of responsibility placed upon it brought not only skyrocketing ratings, but also many expectations that could not be seen with the naked eye yet undeniably existed.

The more prosperous a city was, the more opportunities it had. The poorer a place was, the fewer chances it had to develop.

The polarization of social wealth brought not merely differences in material conditions; it even seriously affected people's futures and development.

The strong preyed upon the weak, and only the fittest survived. Nature's cruelest law of competition applied not only to animals, but also to humans, regarded as the most intelligent of all living beings.

But the one difference between humans and animals was that powerful humans naturally took on greater social responsibility.

The greater one's ability, the greater one's responsibility. Thus, when poor, one cultivated oneself; when successful, one aided the world.

As the first season of Exchanging Lives came to an end, Huaxia Imperial Entertainment launched the "Under the Same Blue Sky" charitable education fund, announcing that aside from what was needed to keep Exchanging Lives running normally, all of the program's profits would be used for charitable education.

And the first places to receive support were the filming locations selected during the recording of the first season of Exchanging Lives.