Everyone on the production crew stared blankly as Wang Jun'er and Wang William were "escorted" off the set.
Wang Jun'er glared at the people enjoying her humiliation, endless resentment and anger erupting inside her.
Even that pretentious bitch Xu Xirui didn't dare come over. He called her Sister Jun'er every day, but at a time like this, he treated her like a stranger.
She silently swore she would get revenge!
"Sis, we goin'?" Wang William asked, his speech slurred.
Wang Jun'er shot him a vicious glare. "Let's go to the hospital to document your injuries first. I'm going to get even!"
After they left, everyone kept talking.
"No way. Why was Wang Jun'er the one who left?"
"Wasn't Shi Wei the one who hit someone? What happened in the conference room? Someone tell me!"
"Ruirui, aren't you with the same agency as them? Do you know any inside information?"
Called out by someone beside him, Xu Xirui shook his head at them. "I don't know either. Sister Jun'er is our agency's top actress. How would a junior like me know her business?"
"True. Ruirui's so well-behaved, he's probably busy working all day. How would he have time for gossip?"
Xu Xirui merely smiled faintly at the praise.
As the discussion grew increasingly heated, the assistant director stepped forward to explain what had happened.
An uproar swept through the crowd.
They hadn't expected Wang Jun'er to be so careless. This was a major production they had spent five years preparing, and they hadn't dared reveal the plot even during auditions. Yet she had brought an outsider straight onto the set, and he had even had the nerve to take photos.
Xu Xirui turned and left the set.
Wang Jun'er was utterly useless! She couldn't even eat the meat delivered right to her mouth, and she'd brought along dead weight to ruin things for him!
What a waste!
Looked like he'd have to find another way...
The minor disturbance didn't disrupt the pace of the Calming the Wind and Waves production.
Shi Wei sat in his seat, letting the makeup artist work on him.
His face was already perfect enough. The makeup artist accentuated the striking beauty of his brows and eyes, styled his wig, and had him change into his period costume. When he walked out, the beautiful young eunuch instantly drew everyone's attention.
"Good, very good." Zhang Zixiang beckoned Shi Wei over, nodding as he looked him up and down. "Hanchuan, what do you think?"
Only then did Ji Hanchuan, who was sitting beside him, lazily turn to look.
Shi Wei gave him a flirtatious wink.
-Heh, that bastard's staring himself stupid. I must look amazing! Shit, he'd better not fall for me. I'll break his damn heart.
Ji Hanchuan's expression darkened.
"Passable." Ji Hanchuan came back to his senses. "Nothing special."
Shi Wei: ...
"Hanchuan, your standards are too high. Shi Wei, go take the promotional photos with Mo Xingyu."
"Sure."
Mo Xingyu had changed too and was sitting stiffly on the dragon throne.
Shi Wei patted his shoulder. "Are you playing a statue? You're so stiff. Can't you loosen up?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Mo Xingyu was already nervous to death around Ji Hanchuan, and Shi Wei's teasing left him even more at a loss. He whispered, "Help distract me. With Teacher Ji watching me like that, I can't even move."
How could he refuse a request from a handsome guy?
Remembering how Ji Hanchuan had helped him get into character before, Shi Wei decided to help Mo Xingyu. "Look at me. Who am I?"
"You're Shi Wei."
"...Who am I?"
"Shi. Wei."
"Who! Am! I!"
Mo Xingyu shouted, "Sh-ir, Shi! W-ay, Wei!"
Shi Wei: ...
What kind of endless Ma Dongmei hell was this?!
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say your brain's temporarily offline because Ji Hanchuan's watching...
Not far away, amusement surfaced in Ji Hanchuan's eyes.
Idiot.
"I'm not asking you what my name is." Shi Wei pressed both hands onto Mo Xingyu's shoulders. Since he was standing, he had to bend down to meet Mo Xingyu's eyes. "You need to get into character and answer me as your character."
Shi Wei was very close. Mo Xingyu could clearly see his clear eyes beneath those long, raven-feather lashes, and the tip of his small, delicate nose almost touched his own...
He froze.
"You're the emperor. All your life, everyone around you has either wanted to kill you or use you. I'm the only person you trust."
Mo Xingyu nodded blankly.
"I treat you very well. I'd do anything for you."
A nod.
"One day, you were bullied at court and felt very upset. Then I held you. Do you remember?"
A nod.
"Then who am I?"
Mo Xingyu murmured, "Shi Wei."
Shi Wei: ...
He didn't want to talk anymore.
Mo Xingyu flushed bright red and hurriedly said, "You're Liang Fang, you're Liang Fang. I know."
"It's fine. Stick with Brother Shi from now on, and I'll carry you." Shi Wei sighed inwardly. How could such a handsome guy have such a useless brain?
After the photos, Shi Wei went to sit beside Ji Hanchuan.
"An ugly imitation?" Ji Hanchuan asked coolly.
Thinking of what had just happened embarrassed Shi Wei, but he couldn't admit defeat in front of Ji Hanchuan. "I didn't expect differences in IQ to produce such different results."
"..." Ji Hanchuan marveled at his sheer shamelessness. "Brother Shi will carry you?"
Shi Wei keenly sensed the warning signs of breaking character and said ingratiatingly in a low voice, "If Teacher Ji wants a carry, Younger Brother Shi can carry you too."
Ji Hanchuan's expression darkened, and he pushed him away.
Standing behind them, Li Xiaochen was scared witless.
How did Shi Wei dare speak to Brother Hanchuan like that? Wasn't he scared when he saw that look on Brother Hanchuan's face?
It was another day of Shi Wei working hard to dance on Ji Hanchuan's bottom line.
"What are you talking about?" Xu Xirui came over holding snacks. He first stuffed two packets into Shi Wei's hands, as though afraid he would act the way he had last time. "Xiao Wei, I brought some for you today."
"Oh." Shi Wei passed the snacks straight to Ji Hanchuan as an offering. "I won't have any. I'm going to take my makeup off."
Take your time bonding.
Shi Wei made his escape.
"Hey, Shi Wei, I'll come take my makeup off with you," Mo Xingyu called after him.
"Sure." Shi Wei waited for him to catch up so they could leave together.
Ji Hanchuan watched their retreating figures, his gaze darkening.
At least you know your place. Xu Xirui put aside his inward grumbling and smiled sweetly. "Brother Hanchuan, can I sit beside you?"
"Sure. Have a seat."
Ji Hanchuan stood and left.
The smile froze on Xu Xirui's face, leaving him deeply embarrassed.
As the assistant specifically responsible for smoothing things over, Li Xiaochen handled this minor situation with ease. "Sorry, Teacher Ji is tired. If there's nothing else, he's going back to rest somewhere quiet."
Xu Xirui: ...
He glared fiercely at Li Xiaochen and left with his snacks.
He was about to die of anger!
Seeing Xu Xirui's expression, Chen Feng hurried over in concern. "Ruirui, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine." His tone was a little sharp, and Chen Feng felt uncomfortable hearing it.
After reuniting with Ji Hanchuan, he now felt that all these people hovering around him fell far short of Ji Hanchuan.
Why couldn't Ji Hanchuan be the one showing concern for him?
"I'm sorry, Brother Feng. I didn't mean it." Xu Xirui lowered his eyes to look at him, like a pitiful puppy. "I just feel like Brother Hanchuan doesn't like me."