The Relationship Had Changed Again

Si You had not acted opposite anyone in a long time, and Jiang Tingxu was the kind of person who could draw someone deeper into a scene with the slightest nudge.

The lingering rush coursed up his spine in waves and flooded his mind, carrying a tingling numbness that left his limbs weak.

Jiang Tingxu noticed Si You's slightly heavy breathing and gently wrapped an arm around his lower back.

Just as he was about to say, "It's okay now," Xue Boyu pushed open the door.

The scene became awkward for a moment.

Si You could not answer Xue Boyu's question for the time being, but Jiang Tingxu replied in a low voice, "Running lines."

To Xue Boyu, that sounded like an excuse.

What kind of acting skills did Jiang Tingxu have? What kind did Si You have? The two of them running lines was like a kindergarten child discussing Stirling's theorem with a genius from a top university. Complete nonsense.

Xue Boyu said, "...Fine."

Si You: "..." Your tone could not have been any more perfunctory.

Jiang Tingxu released Si You and took a step back at the same time, restoring a safe distance between them.

"What did you need me for?" Jiang Tingxu asked.

"Oh, Brother Fei Chang and the others asked Brother Si You to come downstairs and hang out. Also, a new task has been released."

The filming location for Spring Action leaned toward an old town and farmland, focusing on letting the guests experience life and return to basics. One only had to look at the previous tasks to understand—either digging wild vegetables or selling fruit. This time, it was even more down-to-earth: the guests were asked to help several farming households till their fields and plant potatoes.

The conditions of these farming households were fairly difficult. The young people in their families were gone, leaving behind elderly people with an average age of sixty-five. Without help, they would not be able to harvest many potatoes to eat during the winter.

By the time Si You and Jiang Tingxu came downstairs, Fei Chang was already clearing the table.

Fei Chang laughed. "Why didn't you wait until I was old before coming down?"

Si You hurriedly said, "Sorry. I had some clothes piled up, and I thought they would be quick to wash."

Xue Boyu pressed his lips together, looking a little pleased and proud. He was the only one who had touched upon the truth.

Jiang Tingxu had repeatedly emphasized that they were running lines, and Xue Boyu had reluctantly believed him. But that did not stop him from shipping them.

Their transportation was still several electric tricycles borrowed by the production team, and staff members would lead them to the fields.

As usual, Si You and Xue Boyu sat in the back while Jiang Tingxu drove.

Before getting on, Jiang Tingxu glanced at Si You. His gaze was calm and restrained.

There were not many situations these days that could immerse Jiang Tingxu in a scene. One reason was the lack of truly good scripts; another was that unless his scene partner was a veteran actor, they would always be missing something. But just now, in that room, at one particular moment, Jiang Tingxu seemed to have truly seen Yun Si, the Sixth Prince—that beautiful, gloomy youth who desperately longed to be loved yet was exceptionally sensitive. To achieve his goal, he intended to offer himself to Lu Tu. His robe slid from his shoulders to his feet. Though he still wore underpants and boots, Jiang Tingxu seemed to see the youth's lean, pale ankles.

It was a kind of imagination that extended into the viewer's mind through the combined effects of expression, language, movement, and more. The acting progressed layer by layer, clear and composed, yet it made the viewer's blood hum and tremble. This was not something an ordinary actor could possess.

Something was off about Si You, Jiang Tingxu thought.

He had met several promising young actors who had graduated from formal acting programs, but none of them possessed this ability. Then he thought of Si You's performance in that idol drama, which had been completely different from what he had just seen. Even if Si You had deliberately concealed his talent under suppression from his former company, or had turned over a new leaf and honed his skills, there was no way he could have reached this level in such a short time.

Indeed, the heights Jiang Tingxu had reached in this life were no less than what Si You had achieved in his previous one. Acting skills could not be sharpened overnight; he too had struggled through hardship again and again.

Jiang Tingxu analyzed things calmly, then suddenly felt that Si You was surrounded by a fog. If he reached in and pulled hard, perhaps another soul would emerge.

The thought sent an inexplicable shiver through Jiang Tingxu. The tricycle swerved slightly, bumping over a rock.

"Ow!" Xue Boyu's butt lifted off the seat, and he lurched sideways into Si You.

"Ow..." Si You let out a second soft groan. Xue Boyu might only have been nineteen, but his frame was no joke. That collision still hurt.

Jiang Tingxu immediately stopped the tricycle.

"What happened?" he asked, turning around.

Rubbing his shoulder, Si You smiled. "Nothing. Boyu didn't sit steadily."

Their eyes met, and that subtle sensation, like a faint current passing through their souls, returned.

Si You had gained a deep understanding of Jiang Tingxu's acting after watching My Way, but Jiang Tingxu's deeper understanding of Si You had come only just now.

In truth, Jiang Tingxu had produced fewer works in recent years because he had started to grow weary. It had nothing to do with age or experience. Rather, after reaching a realm others could scarcely imagine, he could no longer taste any pleasure from acting, something he loved. That was terrible for an actor who took filming seriously. Yet when he had acted opposite Si You just now, flames had burst from Jiang Tingxu's chest, nearly burning him and Lu Tu, the character, into one mass.

A resonant note from a zither sounded in Jiang Tingxu's heart.

After watching My Way, Si You had once plucked a string toward Jiang Tingxu. Jiang Tingxu had not known it then, but now he vaguely heard it.

The two fell silent for a long while again.

Xue Boyu looked at one, then the other, and quietly reminded them, "The camera is still filming."

"Ahem." Si You coughed lightly twice and looked away first.

Jiang Tingxu gave Xue Boyu a bland glance.

Xue Boyu: "!" Brother, I was helping you!

"Best Actor Jiang." A staff member jogged over. "Is there a problem?"

"No. Boyu isn't used to it yet. I'm waiting for him to adjust," Jiang Tingxu said.

Xue Boyu said, "I'm used to it now!"

So I'm taking the blame? Brother Jiang, you clearly stopped only after hearing Brother Si You hiss softly.

This area had undergone development. A winding road ran upward between two mountains, then curved down toward another place. The farmers' land had been reorganized in a mountain hollow, most of it terraced fields following the slope. Even from a distance, the workload was clearly substantial.

Jiang Yao could not count on Zhang Jianlin. Gritting her teeth, she thought, I'll plow the damn two miles myself!

Si You and the others were the least worried. They were currently first in redeemed points.

The production team's rules were simple: points would be calculated according to the area planted with potatoes. The soil was dry, relying on the autumn rainy season for water. Every swing of the hoe sent dust flying, and they had to dig deeper to reach even a trace of moisture.

Everyone rolled up their pant legs. Watching a yellow ox work in the neighboring field with its tail swishing, Si You sincerely asked the production team, "Don't we have one?"

The assistant director said, "No!"

[Hahaha, Si You sure has nice dreams. There's no way they'd provide you with tools in a situation like this.]

[Wuwuwu, with that dusty, grayish backdrop, my husband is still so handsome it makes my head spin.]

[Um... Are there really places this difficult?]

Si You had lived with his grandfather for a while as a child. After retiring, the old man began pursuing his old dreams and lived a life of "picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge." He opened up a patch of land in front of the courtyard and planted fruits and vegetables. Si You had wielded a hoe alongside him before. He had been clumsy at first, but after doing it more often, he became proficient.

An old man sat on the dirt slope smoking a pipe, squinting and smiling. The field Si You was planting belonged to him.

Zhang Jianlin had just dug up a clump of dirt and nearly scattered it onto Jiang Yao. The comments immediately began cursing, but when they turned around and saw Si You's smooth, unhurried movements, Zhang Jianlin could not help growing anxious.

Things developing to this point had exceeded everyone's expectations. Si You seemed to have grown radar all over his body; he could always evade danger at critical moments.

Once Zhang Jianlin's sense of imbalance rose, he could barely contain it. "Si You, I heard you came out of Dust Creek Mountain. No wonder you're so skilled at this kind of work."

Dust Creek Mountain was famously barren and poor. Once the young people left, only the elderly and children remained. Forests stretched in every direction, and towering peaks blocked their view of the outside world. When facilities in many cities had already become well-developed, they had only just gotten electricity.

No matter how much the world advanced, there would always be places technology could not reach. But that did not mean civilization had regressed; it was more a kind of raw authenticity exuded by the land.

The original owner had once avoided this topic, always considering it a stain on himself. But Si You did not mind. "Yes, I've farmed before."

People might scatter in every direction, but they could not forget their roots. Si You did not think coming from the mountains was something shameful. If one lacked knowledge, one could broaden it. If one lacked money, one could earn it. The meaning of life lay in learning continuously. What was difficult was maintaining peace and open-mindedness, rather than standing somewhere everyone could reach and looking down on those who came later.

Si You's tone was frank, leaving Zhang Jianlin unsure how to continue.

[Sure enough, sincerity is always the ultimate move.]

[Exactly. How great is it to admit it openly? Hiding it before and even lying about where he came from was pretty pointless.]

[I'm really starting to like Si You now.]

[Am I the only one who thinks Zhang Jianlin is being such an asshole?]

After being baked by the sun and then hit by the wind, Si You started coughing again. Jiang Tingxu told him to rest by the ridge for a while.

In the past, Si You would definitely have refused repeatedly, but his relationship with Jiang Tingxu... seemed to have changed again.

Si You did not refuse and sat beside the old man.

"Do you only eat potatoes?" Si You asked.

The old man pointed at his ear and shook his head. "Can't... can't hear clearly."

Si You pointed at the ground and raised his voice. "DO YOU ONLY EAT POTATOES?!"

The old man continued shaking his head. "There are peach trees. Sell peaches, trade for rice, trade for money."

"What about your children?"

The old man only smiled.

The wind left Si You numb all over. His throat itched terribly. The sickness in his body had been building for a long time without ever finding an outlet, and whenever it found an opportunity, it had to strike him a couple of times.

The next second, a jacket was draped over him.

Si You looked up and found Jiang Tingxu frowning slightly. "Put it on."

It carried a faint scent of pinewood, and it smelled quite nice.

Si You pulled it tighter. "Mm, thank you."

Then the back of the man's hand pressed against his forehead. Jiang Tingxu said softly, "You're fine. No fever."

Everyone: "..."

Xu Ke thought that, as expected of a Best Actor. The way they sprinkled sweetness was more effective than him sticking to Fei Chang all day—it sweetened people up in a single instant.