Trending Argument

Xiao Ming, whom Qu An had brought into the RV, still looked dejected.

After all, although he had always worked hard in the past, his efforts had always paid off. Today's setback had shaken his confidence.

It was as if he really was stupid, good at nothing and capable of nothing.

Qu An shut the door after bringing him inside. He cared deeply about every shot of himself. When the director had called for a reshoot earlier, he had not spoken up because he wanted to strive for perfection.

Most people both inside and outside the industry thought he was gentle and good-natured, but that was merely a carefully packaged persona.

He was actually at a loss with today's scene. He had never filmed romance scenes. Directors in the past had always said that he had technique but no emotion, so most of his dramas focused on plot, usually male-led epics or stories about family and country.

And the roles he had played these past few years had all been much the same, leaving audiences somewhat tired of them. After winning the Golden Arts Award for Best Actor, he had entered a bottleneck period. That was also why his agent had exceptionally taken on this sort of endorsement for him.

What he had taught Xiao Ming earlier was also a technique his teacher had explained in class: using Method acting to imagine oneself into similar experiences. He had brought Xiao Ming inside now to comfort him as well.

After all, the poor kid who had been suddenly dragged in for filming looked like he was about to cry. Qu An knew how to deal with people with ulterior motives, but he found it difficult to treat someone as blank and pure as Xiao Ming that way. Xiao Ming was like his little niece.

Qu An took a milk candy from his bag beside him and placed it in Xiao Ming's hand, coaxing him as though he were a child. "Have some candy. My little niece says these are delicious."

Xiao Ming's parents had been too busy for him since he was young. When he was little, he lived with his grandparents, and after elementary school, he had always attended boarding school.

Xiao Ming's grandparents were both researchers too. The elderly couple were rather strict and believed in elite education for children. The older generation's tendency to dote on grandchildren was barely present in them, and even then, it was not obvious.

At least, the candies Xiao Ming remembered receiving from others could be counted on both hands.

"Oh... thanks." Xiao Ming was a little dazed and looked rather foolish.

He unwrapped the candy and put it in his mouth. The milky sweetness spread through his mouth, and the single piece of candy healed more than half of his gloomy mood.

"Thank you, Brother Qu." Xiao Ming gave Qu An a somewhat shy smile.

He had not removed his makeup. Because he was upset, there was a faint redness at the corners of his eyes. His eyes glittered, and a slight smile still lingered on his lips.

When their eyes met, there was only open, clear-hearted gratitude in Xiao Ming's gaze, like a child who had been given candy.

The unfamiliar tremor in Qu An's heart reminded him of a plot point he had never understood before. He seemed to understand how he should play it now.

Qu An looked away and quickly reined in his inexplicable emotions. Smiling, he said, "No need to thank me, classmate Xiao Ming. That expression you had just now was very good. Let's try it again later. Remember how you feel right now."

"Okay."

After adjusting his emotions and touching up his makeup, Xiao Ming went back on set.

Xiao Ming was like an elf of the sea. The smile on his beautiful face could make people fall for him, making it natural for them to unconsciously walk toward the place he had disappeared from.

After the Mermaid fell into the sea, he swam forward for a while before diving beneath the surface.

"Cut! That's a wrap!"

Xiao Ming had performed very well, and the staff on set all smiled.

"He's so beautiful. I feel like I'd willingly do anything for him."

"Exactly. I really want to know this handsome guy's name."

Xiao Ming had been sitting on a reef during filming, but it was not high enough to hide him, so the lifeguards had been waiting on the shore.

The atmosphere among the group had finally improved somewhat. Xiao Ming surfaced and swam back, and everyone prepared to shoot the final scene.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ming suddenly shuddered and sank beneath the water.

Qu An had been waiting nearby for the soda-drinking scene he needed to shoot next. The moment he saw Xiao Ming's reaction, he rushed forward without a second thought.

Fortunately, the filming location was not far from shore. Only when Qu An reached Xiao Ming did he realize that the water barely came up to his chest.

But he did not think much about it. He slipped his arms beneath Xiao Ming's armpits and pulled him ashore in a professional rescue hold. Everyone crowded around them, asking over one another whether he was alright.

Luckily, Qu An had reacted quickly and they had not been far out. Xiao Ming had only swallowed a few mouthfuls of bitter, salty seawater.

They soon returned to the RV. Once they confirmed that Xiao Ming was fine, and he insisted that he did not need to go to the hospital and only needed some rest, everyone finally calmed down.

"Xiao Ming, how are you feeling?"

"My leg cramped up in the water just now. I'm much better now. Thanks to you, Brother Qu. Thank you for helping me again."

"If you want to thank me, treat me to dinner."

"Sure!" Xiao Ming knew Qu An simply did not want him to feel too guilty, so he readily agreed.

Since the shots involving Xiao Ming were done and only Qu An's remained, Xiao Ming figured that he was not feeling too uncomfortable. He moved a small stool over and sat with everyone to watch Qu An film the final part.

Only when Qu An was filming alone did he bring out his true skill. It was clearly just an advertisement, even one with somewhat exaggerated elements, yet as Xiao Ming watched, he felt that the can of soda in Qu An's hand must be delicious.

Qu An finished it in one take, and the tense atmosphere on set dissipated by more than half. Xiao Ming's scare earlier had truly frightened everyone. The group happily congratulated one another on wrapping for the day.

Because he had delayed everyone's schedule today, Xiao Ming had felt bad about it. But right before they wrapped, someone suddenly arrived and said that Xiao Ming had bought drinks for everyone, prompting the group to come thank him.

But Xiao Ming knew perfectly well that he had not ordered anything. When he looked up and saw Qu An smile at him, he understood everything at once.

Xiao Ming had accepted too much kindness from Qu An today. He silently calculated how many meals he would need to treat him to before repaying it all. Whatever else happened, he considered Qu An a friend. As long as nothing unexpected happened, even if their paths never crossed again, he would always remember this kindness.

It was after six when filming ended. In summer, the sun set late, and it was only beginning to lean toward dusk. This beach faced west, making it an ideal place to watch the sunset.

Xiao Ming had originally made no other plans and had intended to watch the sunset here, but now that he had agreed to have dinner with Qu An, he had been waiting for Qu An to bring it up.

Qu An said something to Xiao Le, then turned back toward the shore and sat directly on the sand.

The beach here was very clean, with hardly anything else around. Xiao Ming watched for a while, then walked over and sat down as well.

The two of them tacitly said nothing, letting the seawater wash over their ankles as they quietly watched the sun's remaining light turn into sunset, dyeing half the sky red before shifting into layer upon layer of orange and gold like a cake.

The camera had not yet been turned off. The cameraman, who had been a step too slow, felt something stir in his heart and aimed at the two figures to capture the moment.

The sun had already sunk beneath the horizon, leaving no trace of itself behind. Only its afterglow still hung across half the sky.

After enjoying the view, the two drove to a seafood restaurant, unaware that the internet had already descended into chaos.

That morning, while filming Full Speed Ahead!, someone on the Mountain had used a telephoto lens to photograph Qu An and Xiao Ming together the entire time. The training hall was enclosed and could not be photographed, but the commercial street and the stadium track were both out in the open.

As a result, some fans had already started cursing, though at first they only grumbled quietly within their own circles, and not many people knew about it.

It was only after Xiao Ming stepped in as a replacement and filmed the advertisement with Qu An that things exploded.

At first, netizens had not paid much attention to it, but Yang Yiyi, who had refused to film because she was throwing a tantrum, blew up when she heard about it.

Yang Yiyi's father, Boss Yang, owned a cosmetics company. His business was doing well and had made him plenty of money. Since cosmetics were connected to celebrities, he later invested in several variety shows and other projects, earning even more.

Yang Yiyi was Boss Yang's youngest daughter. She was pretty, and he usually spoiled her, giving her almost anything she wanted.

Yang Yiyi had always looked down on the entertainment industry. Her mother truly came from an old scholarly family and looked down on these "actors" even more.

But a few years ago, she had accidentally watched one of Qu An's dramas and been bewitched by his face, so she began following celebrities too. Yet Qu An had previously only acted and almost never accepted endorsements, so even with money, she had nowhere to spend it.

After Qu An won Best Actor, she heard that he was in talks for a soda endorsement. She had her father contact the endorsement company and arrange for her to film an advertisement with Qu An.

In the end, she waited at the originally scheduled filming location for quite a while. More and more people gathered nearby, and then someone directly messaged her to say the location had changed and told her to hurry over. One place was in the south and the other in the north—hurry over? Easier said than done.

Yang Yiyi had been born after her family had already become wealthy. She had been spoiled since childhood, so how could she tolerate such a grievance? She told them to film on another day instead; her father would cover the losses anyway.

But for some reason, she was replaced in the end. By the time the news reached Yang Yiyi, she had been standing under the noon sun for quite a while, soaked in foul-smelling sweat and already in a terrible mood. When someone told her that Xiao Ming was trying to steal the spotlight and had been sticking close to Qu An all morning to ride his popularity, she became furious and directly bought a trending topic and hired paid commenters.

With Yang Yiyi lighting the fuse first, along with fans and professional antis adding fuel to the fire, news spread quickly in the fast-paced internet age. Before long, the trending topics were ablaze with discussion.

On top of that, someone had photographed Xiao Ming on the ferry. All at once, a crowd of people "confirmed" that Xiao Ming had indeed been trying to ride Qu An's popularity.

Most of Qu An's fans had originally been career fans or motherly fans who had watched him grow up, but he had grown into his looks over the past two years. Coupled with winning Best Actor at such a young age, he had suddenly gained many more fans.

Most of those fans had come for his halo—some admired his face, others his body. Relatively few actually paid attention to his acting skills.

Most of them had previously been fans of idol-type celebrities before switching to Qu An, so they often used the same tactics they had before.

Because of this, Qu An's laid-back longtime fans and combative newer fans often argued. This time, most of the new Qu An fans cursing Xiao Ming on the trending topics would add replies denying that the longtime fans counted as fans after only saying a few words. It was a complete mess, though the two people at the center of it all knew nothing.