Chapter 14

For a moment, Ning Luo thought he had misheard. What Lu Tingzhou had said wasn't "a dead end," but some other kind of mountain road or waterway—at worst, "four roads."

He spoke tremblingly, asking with all humility, "Brother Tingzhou, what... what did you just say? The wind was too strong. I don't think I heard clearly."

"Nothing. Just a casual joke," Lu Tingzhou said indifferently, as though it had truly been an ordinary joke not worth pursuing. "Looks like I don't have much of a sense of humor."

Ning Luo: You have way too much of one.

He forced himself to smile. "Hahaha, really? Now that I think about it, it is pretty funny. Hahahahahaha."

To humor his idol, he gave a few awkward laughs.

The result was that he laughed too loudly. The entire valley echoed with his hehehe-hahaha laughter, rising and falling without end.

"Hahahahaha... hahahahahahaha..."

Ning Luo was so embarrassed by himself that his scalp went numb. He swiftly turned around and trudged forward with his head down.

Walking too fast, he naturally missed the flicker of amusement in Lu Tingzhou's eyes.

It took Ning Luo several steps to realize he had reached the middle of the bridge. At the slightest movement, the bridge creaked and groaned like an elderly woman, trembling as it called out again and again.

Unable to advance or retreat, and afraid others would laugh at him for being timid, he gripped the rope tightly in his palm and inched forward, muttering under his breath as he walked.

"Come on, Ning Luo, you can do this. You're a valiant eagle, a battle-hardened tiger, a wise wolf. You've changed. You're no longer a rice bucket, a black sheep, a retreating drum, or grass on a wall."

His muttering drifted on the wind to Lu Tingzhou's ears. Lu Tingzhou lowered his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips.

Ning Luo kept encouraging himself. "Strike while the iron's hot, then weaken on the second try, and be exhausted by the third..."

A gust of wind swept in, making the bridge sway from side to side.

He immediately shut his eyes and shouted with all his might in his heart:

Fourimasu, I can't do this ahhhhh!!!

A soft hiss came from behind him.

Then a large hand settled on his shoulder, its palm covering his entire shoulder. The warmth was especially distinct even through his clothes.

Ning Luo's body stiffened abruptly, and he glanced back.

Lu Tingzhou was frowning slightly, one hand covering his ear. When he saw Ning Luo look over, he lowered it. His Adam's apple bobbed as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he swallowed it back and slowly let out a breath. "I'll take you across."

The hand on his shoulder gave him a slight push forward.

"No, no need," Ning Luo hurriedly said. "Don't trouble yourself, Brother. I can do it myself..."

Lu Tingzhou moved to his side. The weight on his shoulder disappeared, replaced by five fingers lightly gripping his forearm through his sleeve.

It was polite enough that Lu Tingzhou didn't grip him tightly, yet firm enough that Ning Luo couldn't pull free, and he was led forward.

Ning Luo had no choice but to swallow his polite refusal. "Then... thank you, Brother Tingzhou."

Lu Tingzhou gave a quiet hum. After walking for a while, he added, "Look up and look ahead. You won't be as scared."

Ning Luo nodded and said okay. His gaze fell on where their hands met beneath the wide sleeves, and the tips of his ears reddened slightly as his eyes darted away.

No matter how wild he was online, in real life, he was still an innocent young man!

After dragging his feet for what felt like forever, he finally crossed the wooden bridge and reached the cave beside the waterfall.

The moment his feet touched solid ground, Lu Tingzhou released Ning Luo and was called away by Nie Wentao.

Ning Luo pursed his lips and tugged at his cuff, calling out to Xu Ling as she approached, "Sister Ling."

Xu Ling handed him a bottle of water. "What's wrong? Why are you so pale?"

Ning Luo shook his head.

The original owner wasn't afraid of heights. He didn't know whether Xu Ling knew that, so it was better not to say anything.

Xu Ling had only mentioned it in passing. She soon took him to shoot the new scene.

The scenery here was indeed breathtaking. The stream was crystal clear, splashing droplets scattered like pearls, while birds chirped in the mountain ravine.

The photographers were setting up their equipment, and an assistant was helping Lu Tingzhou arrange his clothes. Nie Wentao took the opportunity to come over and say, "That's the Ning Family's second son? Sure enough, he looks more like his mother."

Lu Tingzhou nodded.

Nie Wentao said, "There's something I need to tell you. This Ning Luo doesn't have much professional ability, so we won't shoot the version with the two of you together that was originally planned. That's Ning Yang's intention as well."

Without comparison, there was no harm. This way, they could avoid Ning Luo's shortcomings without making Lu Tingzhou compromise.

Lu Tingzhou only said, "Look behind you."

Nie Wentao turned around.

He saw Ning Luo holding a prop sword upside down. Bored from waiting for the set to be arranged in the corner, he casually flicked out several sword flourishes. His movements were sharp yet graceful, exceptionally pleasing to watch.

Nie Wentao had spent a long time on film sets. One look was enough for him to tell that Ning Luo had been specially coached and trained by a martial arts instructor. Whether it was practical or not was hard to say, but it was certainly pleasing to the eye.

Nie Wentao was surprised. "He's trained?"

Lu Tingzhou said, "Let's go take a look."

The moment Ning Luo got hold of a sword, his chuunibyou soul began burning fiercely. First, he imagined himself as a reclusive master of the age. After performing several sword routines, he stood at the cave entrance with his hands behind his back, listening to Xiao Song heap extravagant praise on him.

Before long, that was no longer enough. He grabbed Xiao Song and said he would demonstrate the Wudang Cloud-Step for him.

Ning Luo said, "Open your eyes wide and watch carefully. This is scientifically grounded."

Then Lu Tingzhou watched him step on his left foot with his right foot, attempting to ascend to heaven.

"..."

Nie Wentao said, "The mental pressure in the celebrity industry really is intense, huh."

At that moment, he perfectly empathized with Xu Ling.

Xu Ling called out from a distance, "Ning Luo, hurry up and come here."

Then she saw his strange movements. "What are you doing?"

Ning Luo withdrew his technique, stood straight, and gave a light cough. "I was demonstrating the interaction of forces for Xiao Song."

Xu Ling fell silent for a second. In that second, she had already thought of the list of top doctors at the third-party psychological institution partnered with the company. Without showing anything on her face, she beckoned to him. "The set is ready. Come quickly."

Zhao Wanwan, the photo editor, was conscientiously doing her job as a worker. It was just that she was in a bad mood today.

One reason was that the pancake vendor she'd bought breakfast from that morning had forgotten the chicken strips. The other was that she had thought working with the Best Actor today would be easy, only to find that Ning Luo, the deadweight, had been brought along.

"Who knows how much overtime I'll have to pull for retouching later," she said, resting an arm on the photographer's shoulder with an irritated expression. "When I run into someone with neither camera presence nor expressiveness, and the client still wants me to turn black into a rainbow-colored black, I seriously want to quit."

The photographer comforted her. "At least that face is presentable, right? I'll give him some direction on his poses later. It won't be completely impossible to look at."

As they spoke, Ning Luo had already taken his position. Dressed in a fitted black outfit, sword tip touching the ground, he smiled brightly at them.

The photographer frowned at once. In the concept, Ning Luo was supposed to be a character who combined innocence and cruelty, but Ning Luo's looks and temperament didn't match at all. They were practically polar opposites. "Ning Luo, lose the smile. You can't smile."

Zhao Wanwan covered her face, already foreseeing a late night spent in the company of coffee.

Ning Luo stopped smiling and tilted his head. "Can you give me some time to find the feeling?"

The photographer thought: What feeling could you possibly find? You're just wasting everyone's time.

If each person wasted ten minutes, then together they would waste an entire day!

Chuzhu Entertainment's secretary was still watching nearby. The photographer didn't say it aloud, but her attitude visibly cooled. "Fine. Make it quick."

Ning Luo lowered his head to look at the sword in his hand and gave it a shake. The blade reflected a blinding white light beneath the reflector.

In an instant, his wrist turned. The sword swept upward, and he held it in reverse as he executed a beautiful sword flourish. Even though it was only a prop sword, it cut through the air with a sharp whistle.

No one had expected him to have such skill. They were all startled, their admiration plain to see.

"So cool," someone murmured.

An idea flashed through the photographer's mind. Before she could think through whether it was right or wrong, her hand had already pressed the shutter.

Ning Luo was usually unserious, but whenever he became serious, he was genuinely focused. As he finished the move, his aura sank. The sword carved a semicircle through the air and came to rest horizontally before him. He raised two fingers and swept them along the blade, revealing a pair of eyes gleaming with sharpness as they stared straight into the camera.

The shutter captured that moment.

Looking at the photograph, Zhao Wanwan instinctively praised, "What beautiful eyes."

Granted, Ning Luo's eyes had a somewhat youthful shape, making him unsuitable for overly complicated character settings. But once anyone saw the person in this photo, no one would ever again think that Ning Luo was unsuitable.

The eyes in the photograph were slightly narrowed. The perspective from above made them appear long and narrow. Battle intent blazed within them, his emotions so intense they had become pure, while the small mole at the corner of his eye seemed ready to burn.

The aura of a single sword opening the Heavenly Gate was so overwhelming that people hardly dared to look directly at him.

It perfectly matched their vision of Mute Slave.

He was a sharp blade, a sword drawn from its sheath.

He was a mad dog fiercely loyal to his master, ready to bite.

In his previous life, a director had once evaluated Ning Luo: "He can make every character come alive for him, growing bones and sprouting flesh and blood."

Ning Luo's official response to that was: Stop baring your heart to me. Just give me cash.

The photographer became excited. "Ning Luo, quick! While you've still got the feeling, change poses!"

She didn't need to tell him. Ning Luo had already expertly begun posing, his eye acting and physical expression perfectly controlled.

Nie Wentao recovered from his initial shock, then became angry. "This is what you call lacking professional ability? Who exactly is showing off here?"

He wasn't the only person on set who thought so. Beyond their shock, they became even more convinced that rumors in the entertainment industry multiplied wildly. It was enough to hear them, but they shouldn't be believed.

Otherwise, if Ning Luo really were a useless rookie, what did that make them? Paramecia?

Except for Xu Ling.

Xu Ling was someone who truly knew exactly what Ning Luo was capable of.

Ning Yang's secretary praised him without restraint. "Second Young Master is amazing, truly excellent. A little thing like this is completely effortless for him. Right, Miss Xu?"

Xu Ling came back to herself. Hearing him say such things in such a calm tone, the corner of her mouth twitched. "Right."

She failed to notice the gaze behind her that had been fixed in this direction the entire time.

Lu Tingzhou took in the surprise on her face, no less than anyone else's. Looking thoughtful, he replied to Nie Wentao, "In that case, let's take the photos together."

When Ning Luo heard they were going to shoot a two-person photo, he instinctively looked toward Lu Tingzhou in the distance.

Their gazes collided in midair.

Lu Tingzhou's eyes were dark. Slowly, the scrutiny in them faded, replaced by a hint of a smile.

In the dim light of the cave, it was like a temptation concealed without being revealed.

Captured by that beauty, Ning Luo was dazed for a moment. Then he saw Lu Tingzhou walk toward him, stop before him, and lower his eyes to ask, "What pose should we use?"

Ning Luo: ?

What kind of terrible line was that?

He said, "Whatever you think, Brother."

Lu Tingzhou said, "Let's do the scene where Mute Slave is killed by the twin brothers' elder brother."

Both sides agreed, and the photographer said okay as well. Ning Luo adjusted his position, laying the sword in his hand across Lu Tingzhou's neck. Lu Tingzhou raised a hand, but before it could get close, he saw Ning Luo's ears gradually turn red.

Lu Tingzhou paused and asked, "What's wrong?"

Ning Luo pursed his lips shyly. "I'm afraid of men."

"..."

A trace of absurdity flashed through Lu Tingzhou's eyes. "Do I look scary?"

Ning Luo shook his head.

No, you look like my lover.

Xu Ling's brow twitched sharply.