Chapter 17

Ning Luo had been watching with great interest when he saw Sun Shaoyi's feet slip. He blinked. "What happened? Couldn't keep your footing?"

Shen Wenyu covered his eyes. And you have the nerve to ask.

"Probably," he answered vaguely. Seeing Ning Luo in an oversized sleeveless shirt that showed off the smooth, attractive lines of his arm muscles, he whistled. "Couldn't tell before, but Xiao Luo's got quite the body."

Ning Luo proudly puffed out his chest. "I've trained."

"Wait." Shen Wenyu pointed at something peeking out from his collar. "What's that inside your shirt?"

Ning Luo: ?

[It's my scorching-hot body.]

"..."

Shen Wenyu did not want to hear another word of his nonsense. He simply pulled open his collar for a look and found a heat patch stuck there.

"Why did you stick it directly to your skin? Be careful of low-temperature burns."

Even indoors, late autumn was still cold. His fair skin shivered when it was suddenly exposed to the chilly air, turning even paler. Only the spot beneath the heat patch was lightly flushed pink.

Shen Wenyu had not thought anything of tugging at his collar, but seeing that now made him feel inexplicably awkward. He hurriedly let go.

Ning Luo did not notice at all and peeled off the heat patch. "It's been activated for a while already, so it isn't that hot. I'm only wearing it for now. I'll still have to take it off when we start filming."

Shen Wenyu responded with a few distracted sounds.

The wide shot was over, and it was time to prepare the other shots. Bai Xi, the second male lead played by Ning Luo, was due to enter.

At this point, the female lead, Yin Zhijing, had no idea he had arrived. It was not until she had seen Miss Gu off and returned to the boxing gym to collect her things that she saw Bai Xi standing there.

He seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Bai Xi?" Surprise flashed across her face before she quickly smiled. "No, I should call you Attorney Bai. I never imagined that the boy who used to trail after me calling me sister would become the most prestigious litigator at the Red Circle firm."

Thirteen-year-old Bai Xi had been weak and timid, a pitiful boy whose hair had been grabbed and who had been pinned down in the bathroom and slapped.

But after being abandoned time and again, twenty-six-year-old Bai Xi had forged himself into an impregnable fortress. The thorns on his body could wound anyone who wanted to hurt him.

Bai Xi looked at her, and a sharp, cold smile slowly crept onto his face. "I'm so sorry. Trash like me has appeared in front of you again. Sister, do you find me disgusting?"

As he called her "sister," the smile at his lips deepened and deepened, yet there seemed to be a tear trapped in his eyes. It could not fall, so it could only flow into his heart.

Yin Zhijing did not know how to answer him. "Bai Xi, I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye. I never expected that after I left, they would treat you that way because of me..."

"Shut up. Don't say another word." Bai Xi cut her off stiffly. Irritation floated between his strikingly beautiful brows as he raised his chin toward the boxing ring. "Want to spar?"

Yin Zhijing agreed. It was only after they stepped into the ring that she realized Bai Xi was no longer the sickly boy he had been. He even fought as though venting his rage. No matter how badly he was hurt, he would viciously throw himself at her to strike back. He never defended.

After he pinned her to the ground yet again, Yin Zhijing conceded. "You win. I didn't expect you to become so skilled at fighting. You've already surpassed your teacher."

Bai Xi stared at her, with no joy in his eyes. "Guess why I'm so good at fighting."

Yin Zhijing froze and fell silent.

She could see the scars on Bai Xi's body, crisscrossing everywhere.

Bai Xi had not expected an answer from her. Without a word, he released her and headed for the door.

"Bai Xi!"

Yin Zhijing called after him.

He did not turn around.

"Bai Xi, if someone insulted you twice and you remembered it for ten years, then they insulted you for ten years. If you remembered it until death, then they insulted you for your whole life."

Yin Zhijing looked at his retreating back and spoke slowly, each word solemn and precious. "I think of you as my younger brother. I hope my brother can always be happy, learn to hold his head high, keep moving forward, and leave every unhappy thing behind him."

The camera lingered on Bai Xi's expression.

Beneath his messy hair, his eyes hung quietly lowered, seeming to glimmer with tears—or perhaps it was only an illusion.

Instead, the small mole at the corner of his eye seemed to hang there, neither falling nor staying, like a tear that had never dried after all these years.

Ning Luo maintained that expression while the camera got all the footage it needed. The oversized clothes hanging off him made him look even more miserable whenever the wind blew.

By the end of the scene, the actors' emotions were full and the feelings perfectly delivered. Quite a few soft-hearted girls on set had reddened eyes and could not help feeling sorry for Bai Xi.

Sun Shaoyi had not quite come out of the scene yet. Seeing Ning Luo standing there all alone, she instinctively lifted a foot, wanting to go comfort him.

[Aaaaaah, how many more shots do they need before they're done? I'm freezing to death! I'm an ice cube right now! I'm as cold as a seal a thousand kilometers north of Niagara Falls! But you don't care about my feelings at all. You only care about your scene!]

[What sound does a seal make? Like this: I'm freezing, I'm freezing, I'm freezing, I'm freezing—!]

Sun Shaoyi's raised foot paused in midair before she calmly withdrew it as though nothing had happened.

She had actually wanted to comfort Ning Luo?

He was the most carefree person there was. He ate when he should eat and drank when he should drink, never taking anything to heart.

While watching the intensely shattered micro-expression in the shot, Wang Lin also listened to Ning Luo's noisy shouting. "Cut. Ning Luo, you're fucking incredible."

No one else had this kind of split personality.

The moment Wang Lin called cut, Taozi jogged over and put a thick coat on Ning Luo.

Ning Luo sniffled, thinking Wang Lin was praising his acting. "Right? I think I acted fucking amazingly just now too."

Wang Lin gave a dry laugh.

The next scene belonged to the male and female leads, so it had nothing to do with him. Ning Luo stood beside Wang Lin and watched the fun.

Wang Lin said, "By the way, have you gained weight recently?"

"Huh? Have I?"

Wang Lin looked him up and down, then nodded. "You have."

Ning Luo did not believe him and went to weigh himself.

He weighed 136 jin, ten jin heavier than when filming first began.

It was all thanks to the food street near the new filming location, as well as Aunt Zhang's excellent cooking at the Ning Family home.

"...All right." Under Wang Lin's condemning gaze, Ning Luo swallowed guiltily and sat down beside him. "I'll lose weight. I'll lose these ten jin again."

Wang Lin's expression was serious. "Not ten jin. Twenty jin. And you have to lose it within a month."

Ning Luo cried out, "Why?"

"Didn't you read our contract carefully? Your character has physical requirements later on. You need to convey an emaciated, skeletal look. You have to be thin—extremely thin."

The original owner had read the contract, but Ning Luo himself had not looked at it carefully. Naturally, he knew even less.

This bolt from the blue left him dazed.

"So." Wang Lin sympathetically patted his shoulder. "Lose weight. Twenty jin in a month. You can do it."

Ning Luo's lips trembled.

A moment later, he sprang up from his chair. "I'm pulling my investment! I'm pulling my investment!"

He was not staying here anymore! He would switch productions tonight!

-

As for pulling his investment, that was just Ning Luo talking big.

Wang Lin was not scared in the slightest. Hearing him shout that, he merely said, "Oh," then turned around and went to direct the male and female leads.

Leaving behind only Ning Luo, shattered into pieces too tiny to put back together.

Even when he returned to the Ning Family villa, his eyes were still empty.

Taozi helped him draft a complete diet plan. She had worked with female celebrities before and had experience with this. At the moment, she was explaining it to Aunt Zhang.

"Aunt Zhang, remember, Xiao Luo's meals for the next few days are all written here. Please follow this strictly."

Aunt Zhang said, "Just a fist-sized portion of beef and a few broccoli florets for dinner? Will that fill him up?"

Taozi smiled. "Come on, if he ate until he was full, what would be the point of dieting?"

Ning Luo, sitting in the car, heard every word clearly. He had only six dots to say: "..."

He hated people with no sense of boundaries.

Taozi got into the car and stomped once more on his heart, which had already crumbled into cookie crumbs. "Xiao Luo, I booked a fitness coach. Remember to start going to the gym tomorrow."

Ning Luo's soul seemed to be drifting from his mouth as he murmured, "...Kill me..."

When Ning Yang came home from work, he saw Ning Luo sitting at the dining table, using his fork to jab at the beef on his plate over and over. Only after stabbing it to pieces did he put it in his mouth and chew mechanically.

"What happened? Why aren't you eating any vegetables?" He glanced at the other dishes on the table.

Father Ning frantically signaled to him with his eyes.

Ning Luo glanced at him. "Heh."

He lowered his head and continued stabbing the broccoli in his bowl.

Ning Yang: "..."

What a shitty temper.

Father Ning coughed. "Xiao Luo is going on a diet."

Ning Yang sat down. "He has gained quite a bit. Even pigs fattened up for the New Year don't grow that fast."

Ning Luo glared at him. The misery of dieting had filled him with murderous rage, and he bared a row of little white teeth. "Anyone who slanders me in the streets shall be executed without mercy."

Father Ning nearly sprayed out his soup.

Compared to him, Ning Yang appeared unusually calm. "Being an actor means enduring hardship. If you suffer a little more now, then later..."

Father Ning wiped his mouth and took over. "Bitterness first, sweetness later. Things will get better afterward."

Ning Yang glanced at him. "Once he gets used to eating this way, he won't find it bitter anymore."

Father Ning: "..."

Ning Luo looked utterly incredulous. "Brother, I learned a new idiom from you today: no news is good news."

He said sincerely, "When you don't come home, I have no problems at all."

Father Ning took a deep breath. "I learned a new idiom too."

He pointed at Ning Luo. "Crouching dragon." Then he pointed at Ning Yang. "Fledgling phoenix." Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he said, "Both of you shut up and eat."

Ning Xibai had been packed off to the production crew for closed-set filming, while Mother Ning had returned to her parents' home for the week. Only the three men were at the dinner table.

Though Father Ning had told them to shut up, he was the first one to speak again after a while. "By the way, Eldest, I heard you made that Chen Family girl your personal secretary?"

He disapproved. "Professionally speaking, an art student cannot help you much. If you're letting her be your secretary out of personal feelings, I disagree even more. It will affect your judgment, and other people will say unpleasant things."

As Ning Luo ate, he heard about this matter again and pricked up his ears.

[Chen Yan? Why did she become a personal secretary again? Was the CEO who transplanted a uterus last time not outrageous enough to give Big Brother psychological trauma?]

[Do we need a stronger dose of medicine...?]

Ning Yang had not intended to involve Father Ning and had wanted to brush it off. But hearing that made his temples throb. Afraid that he would suffer again if he was even a moment too late, he hurriedly said, "It isn't what you think."

He explained, "I noticed that Chen Yan and the Chen Family behind her have other motives. They probably did not approach me simply for a blind date, so I didn't want to alert them. I wanted to test them first."

So even though Ning Luo's audiobook at the time had given him considerable psychological trauma, Ning Yang had still made Chen Yan his personal secretary.

It was more reassuring to keep certain people under one's nose.

When Father Ning heard this, his expression turned solemn, and he began asking for details. Ning Yang answered each question.

Ning Luo found the conversation boring. Since there was not much he could eat anyway, he quickly finished what was on his plate, said goodbye, and went upstairs.

After watching his figure disappear, Father Ning said, "If I remember correctly, Xibai seemed to be the one who introduced Chen Yan to you, and the Chen Family's eldest son is still his friend. We need to remind Xibai about this, in case he gets deceived too."

Ning Yang only said, "I'm keeping an eye on his side and have already reminded him. Don't worry, Dad."

After a busy day, Ning Yang showered and lay down to sleep that night.

But he forgot there was a dieter upstairs, irritable from not eating enough.

Ning Luo was on his bed, punching and kicking a pillow, rolling back and forth in hunger.

[Hahahaha, dieting!! Hahaha, what a fun thing! An amazing actor obviously has to strictly control his weight, hahaha! OMG, when I wake up, I still have to act! Film! Act! Film! Never end! Hahaha!]

Ning Luo eventually tired himself out from rolling around and fell asleep. At six in the morning, Taozi called and told him to get up and go to the gym with her.

"..."

After being tortured at the gym all morning and eating a salad, Ning Luo returned to the set with green in his eyes.

Unfortunately, the production was improving the catering that day. They were having barbecue.

Smelling the cumin in the air, Ning Luo stood at the entrance, his resentment practically taking physical form.

Wang Lin and the others were happily eating skewers and stuffing themselves with meat when they suddenly felt an evil force approaching directly.

[Kill all the coworkers! Kill them all!]

Wang Lin shuddered and turned around to see Ning Luo standing in the shadows. "Well, listen, we can explain..."

Ning Luo's gaze landed on the watermelon in his hand.

His voice ground through clenched teeth.

[Hahahaha, watermelon! Sweet watermelon, freshly slaughtered watermelon, fresh watermelon that's still bleeding!]