Chapter 45

"So you really were downstairs?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, suddenly unsure what to say. He had truly never met anyone as dull and clumsy as Mu Yu. No wonder his name sounded like "wooden fish"—he really lived up to it.

When Mu Yu heard Chen Mo expose his lie in a single sentence, he somehow felt relieved. His features softened at that instant. Looking at the brightly lit five-star hotel beyond the car window, Mu Yu said gently, "When I heard you were having a late-night meal with the crew, I didn't want to put you in a difficult position. I didn't expect Xiao Mo to be so clever that you'd guess it right away."

Hearing that, Chen Mo gave a slightly flippant whistle and said with a smile, "The aloof guy turning into a warm-hearted man? Aren't you afraid your image will fall apart?"

"Isn't that what's popular now?" Mu Yu hesitated, then imitated Chen Mo's tone and said as if joking, "...What if I act all aloof around you and scare you away?"

That low, gentle voice traveled through the phone into his ear. For that instant, it was like soft feathers brushing against his ear, warm and ticklish as they swept straight into his heart.

Chen Mo could not quite describe how he felt. He instinctively turned to look into the room and was about to speak when Mu Yu asked with a smile, "...Would you mind having one more person at your late-night meal?"

Chen Mo frowned. He knew that, given Mu Yu's personality, he probably did not enjoy this sort of thing. The only reason he had brought it up was likely because he did not want to make things difficult for Chen Mo.

But while Mu Yu could consider his circumstances, Chen Mo would not deliberately force him to do something he disliked. Socializing with the actors on set was important, but not important enough to make one of his own people suffer for outsiders. Chen Mo made his decision at once and said with a smile, "No need. Wait for me half an hour. I'll deal with things here, then call you."

After hanging up, Chen Mo suddenly sneezed. Only then did he realize he had been outside for too long. The chill of early spring seeped into his bones, leaving his whole body cold, even his fingertips icy.

Chen Mo rubbed his hands and pushed open the door to go inside. Since Chen Mo had joined the crew, Chen Yuxiu had always looked after him more than most, so he was naturally closer to him than the others were. Seeing Chen Mo stand outside for so long that his face had gone pale, he teased him with a smile. "Who were you talking to for so long? If you hadn't hung up soon, I was going to go out and bring you another layer."

Before he had even finished speaking, everyone obligingly laughed.

Chen Mo laughed along with them. Once the laughter died down, he brought up the late-night meal again. Since Chen Mo's parents were resting in the bedroom, and he was afraid everyone would feel restrained with outsiders present, he suggested reserving a private room downstairs and having something casual to eat.

Everyone had come to show their support, so they happily agreed.

The whole group moved downstairs. While no one was paying attention, Chen Mo sent Yang Qindong a text message, asking him to come help entertain everyone.

When ordering, Chen Mo was exceptionally sincere. After ordering the dishes, he even told the waiter to bring a bottle of high-proof baijiu. Seeing this, everyone immediately tried to stop him, saying they still had filming tomorrow. Chen Mo waved them off without explaining. When the waiter brought the liquor, Chen Mo opened it himself and downed three large cups in a row, nearly finishing the entire bottle. Then, with an apologetic expression and the advantage of looking young and innocent, he said with flushed cheeks, "I'm really sorry, but something came up. I have to head out first..."

Yang Qindong had not expected that when Chen Mo was immature, he could be truly immature—but when he knew how to handle things, he really knew how to handle things. Looking at the bottle already drained dry, even if Chen Mo got up and left now, no one would have anything to say.

But wasn't this a little too reckless? What if he got completely drunk, could not get up tomorrow morning, and delayed the shoot?

Yang Qindong sighed worriedly to himself, but outwardly remained calm as he stepped forward to smooth things over for Chen Mo. His social skills were naturally far better than Chen Mo's, and Chen Mo had already offered such a sincere apology. Within a few sentences, Yang Qindong had soothed everyone's misgivings away.

Seeing that, Chen Mo finally relaxed a little. Just as he was about to rise and leave, there came a polite, measured knock at the door. Everyone assumed the waiter was bringing food and paid it no mind, casually calling, "Come in." The dark reddish-brown solid wood door of the private room slowly opened, revealing a man in a black custom-tailored suit standing outside.

The man had strikingly handsome features, a steady bearing, and deep-set contours. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a pair of long legs wrapped in perfectly fitted suit pants—he stood quietly in the doorway, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Yang Qindong stared in astonishment at the man by the door, then at Chen Mo beside him, who had downed an entire bottle of baijiu, and immediately understood. He glared at Chen Mo in exasperation before nodding to the man at the door with a smile. "President Mu, what are you doing here too?"

"I heard from Xiao Mo that he was treating the crew to a late-night meal, so I came to join in the fun." Mu Yu had not expected that in less than ten minutes, Chen Mo would manage to cause so much trouble.

Seeing Chen Mo, whose face was flushed and eyes watery after chugging a bottle of baijiu, clearly somewhat drunk, Mu Yu forcibly suppressed both his anger and heartache. He walked over, supported the unsteady, swaying Chen Mo, and asked gently, "Didn't you say you were having a late-night meal? Why did you drink so much?"

For the Chen Mo of his previous life, who had ruled the nightlife scene, this amount of alcohol was nothing. But in this life, Chen Mo was a good kid who had barely ever smoked or drunk. His body's instinctive unfamiliarity with alcohol instantly made him feel the misery of being sober yet weak and sluggish in all four limbs. Worst of all, he had gone all out and drunk to apologize, only for the culprit himself to come walking into the trap!

A little lightheaded from the alcohol, Chen Mo glared at Mu Yu resentfully and complained, "Didn't I tell you to wait downstairs? Why did you come up here?"

Mu Yu pressed his lips together lightly. Feeling Chen Mo's body temperature slightly elevated from the alcohol, he sighed softly. "If I'd known this would happen, I should have come up earlier."

The moment Mu Yu said that, everyone present understood what was going on. At once, several people exchanged knowing looks.

Mu Yu saw everyone's reactions but did not explain. He knew today's social engagement was important to Chen Mo, and he did not want to ruin the connections Chen Mo had been trying to build because of himself. With that in mind, Mu Yu gave up on taking Chen Mo away. Instead, he helped Chen Mo sit down, then called for a waiter to bring over a bowl of sobering soup.

To show the sincerity of his apology, Chen Mo had ordered the strongest baijiu with the harshest aftereffects. He had originally planned to leave the table, then have the system toss out a couple of mines and a bottle of nutrient solution to dispel the alcohol and keep him sober before going downstairs to find Mu Yu. He had not expected Mu Yu to show up at the private room door just after he finished drinking.

With everyone watching, Chen Mo could not make a move immediately. He had to wait until he was seated securely before secretly tossing out a mine to blow himself sober.

Once fully awake, Chen Mo withdrew his thoughts from the system and saw that Mu Yu had somehow taken a seat beside him and was entertaining everyone with the air of a host. The others in the room were also speaking to Mu Yu in the tone they would use with family members.

Having lost several minutes of memory, Chen Mo blinked blankly... What exactly was going on?

Because Chen Mo had chugged a bottle of baijiu and Mu Yu had suddenly appeared, everyone tacitly forgot all about the script rehearsal that had been planned after the late-night meal.

Watching everyone head back to their rooms in contentment after eating and drinking their fill, then looking at Mu Yu, who had remained glued to Chen Mo's side, Yang Qindong sighed with a terrible headache.

He had long known that Boss Mu might have improper intentions toward the young artist under his management. But now that everything had been laid bare, Yang Qindong realized helplessly that if Mu Yu truly wanted to do something to Chen Mo, there was nothing he could do to stop him.

Seeing Yang Qindong's gloomy expression, Chen Mo casually patted his manager on the shoulder and said, "It's late. You should go back and rest too."

Yang Qindong looked at Chen Mo as though he wanted to say something, hesitated for a long while, then ultimately left without saying a word.

In an instant, only Chen Mo and Mu Yu remained in the private room. Looking at the table strewn with dirty dishes and cups, Chen Mo said with a smile, "You didn't get much of a late-night meal, did you? I told you not to come up. Not only did you refuse to listen, you also wasted a whole bottle of my good liquor."

"...But you're in luck. There's still a pot of seafood congee in my room that my dad specially made for me. I was originally going to treat everyone to some, but I forgot to bring it when we came downstairs. How about I treat you to congee instead?"

Seeing how Chen Mo, despite being so young, could handle everything with such ease, Mu Yu suddenly called out solemnly, "Chen Mo..."

Ever since they had met, Mu Yu seemed to have rarely called him by his full name. Chen Mo looked over curiously.

The next second, Mu Yu stared at him with a grave expression and asked in a solemn tone, "You're not eighteen yet, are you?"

"...Since you're not eighteen yet, why can you drink an entire bottle of baijiu without getting drunk? Do your parents know you can hold your liquor this well?"

Chen Mo: "..." Where was the logic in that?

Chapter 45

Because Chen Mo had chugged a bottle of baijiu during the late-night meal, everyone worried that his condition might affect the next day's filming.

But when they arrived on set the next morning, Chen Mo had not only arrived early, but his little face was rosy and he looked full of energy. His eyes were as clear as a pool of spring water, and he was already in costume, memorizing lines in the dressing room. His condition could not have been better. In the eyes of the crew's "old uncles" and "old aunties," whose average age was in their thirties and forties, all they could say was, "That kid can really hold his liquor," followed by a sigh of, "Youth is invincible."

Director Wang Chusheng had known about the gathering the night before, and he also knew Chen Mo had downed an entire bottle of baijiu. He had originally intended to take the opportunity that morning to give Chen Mo a warning, telling him not to fool around too wildly off set and delay filming. But seeing the kid in this state—he looked more energetic than those who had not drunk at all.

Fine. There was nothing to say. The set would reveal the truth.

Wang Chusheng clapped his hands and called the actors with scenes that day over to him. As usual, he began explaining the morning and afternoon shooting plans—essentially letting the actors know which shots they would be filming, what emotions they needed to maintain, and what significance those shots held in the movie as a whole.

After briefly explaining all that, Wang Chusheng beckoned Chen Mo over and personally went through the scene with him, script in hand.

The scene that morning was Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's first meeting with the two Qiaos after taking Wan City. It also included the episode of "When the melody went wrong, Lord Zhou would look back." Though it was not a grand spectacle, compared to the hard-edged tone of the rest of the film, which centered on men competing for the realm through war and political strategy, it was one of the few scenes featuring female characters, and it carried the color of legendary romance.

The other three actors performing with Chen Mo were either Best Actor or Best Actress winners, or veteran performers nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Moreover, they had worked together many times and were old partners with excellent chemistry. Wang Chusheng naturally was not worried about them. The only one he worried about was Chen Mo. Although Chen Mo's portrayal of Sun Ce in the audition and yesterday's filming had been very lively and suited the historical image of the young Sun Ce, most of the audition and yesterday's group scenes had essentially been Chen Mo's solo performances. From the perspective of the plot, no one had been able to steal his spotlight.

Today's scene was different. Wang Chusheng still worried that Chen Mo's lack of experience would cause him to be completely overshadowed by the other three during filming, losing the presence of the Little Conqueror of Jiangdong. If that happened, the entire film would feel unbalanced.

So Wang Chusheng patiently held Chen Mo back and explained the scene to him bit by bit. From the filming objectives, to the shooting order, to the actors' emotions and blocking techniques, he practically wanted to break everything down and feed it to Chen Mo piece by piece. Considering Chen Mo's lack of acting experience and fearing that he might not understand merely by listening, he even had a crew member walk through the blocking personally so Chen Mo could see it clearly. Then he had the four actors rehearse the scene three times on set before finally beginning the official shoot.