Chapter 11

The filming began again.

Xia Xingcheng returned to the grocery store's narrow counter, surrounded by slightly messy goods. He looked down at his book, reciting in his head: I am Fang Jianyuan, eighteen years old, my family set up our own grocery store, and I often sit here on summer afternoons to mind the counter.

He slowly began to calm down.

A shadow blocked the light in front of him. He looked up to find Yang Youming occupying his whole field of vision.

A strange man, Xia Xingcheng thought, but this strange man is extremely good-looking.

His eyes lingered on Yang Youming's face for a while.

Yang Youming was also looking at him, and after a while, Xia Xingcheng turned away shyly and asked, "Is there anything you want to buy?"

Yang Youming suddenly smiled. He put an arm on the counter, body leaning in slightly, and said, "Bring me a pack of cigarettes."

This smile wasn't there previously. Xia Xingcheng suddenly realized that Yang Youming was acting alongside him and reacted based on his own reaction.

Xia Xingcheng stood up, turned to look for cigarettes on the cigarettes shelf, and suddenly remembered that the man didn't specify which ones he wanted, so he turned around and asked, "Which one–" he paused before he finished speaking, because Yang Youming had already entered the grocery store and was looking in the direction of the inner room.

"Hey!" Xia Xingcheng called at Yang Youming, now vigilant. "What kind of cigarettes do you want?" His tone wasn't very friendly.

Yang Youming leaned against the counter again, bent forward and asked, "Is there a room for rent?"

Xia Xingcheng was stunned for a moment. He looked around and said, "Just a moment." Then he went around the counter, accidentally bumping into Yang Youming as he passed him, nodded and apologized, and walked all the way to the store's entrance to shout for his mother next door, "Ma–"

He Zheng didn't say OK, but he nodded to Xia Xingcheng.

Xia Xingcheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was all thanks to Yang Youming who had made it clear to him.

The rest of the shooting went well.

Fang Jianyuan took Yu Haiyang up to the third floor to view the room. The room on the third floor was an en suite with a separate bathroom on the far side of the bedroom.

Yu Haiyang looked around the room. Xia Xingcheng waited patiently, going to the window and looking out of it.

After a while, Yang Youming walked up to him and asked, "How old are you?"

Fang Jianyuan was a somewhat introverted boy, so Xia Xingcheng didn't look at Yang Youming when he spoke: "Eighteen."

Yang Youming felt around in his pocket for a cigarette and recalled that he had run out.

Xia Xingcheng looked at his hand and asked, "Are you living alone?"

"I'm living alone," Yang Youming said.

Xia Xingcheng urged him, "Do you want to rent the room?"

Yang Youming looked at him and smiled. "Let me think about it. I'll give you an answer today."

Today's shooting ended in the afternoon.

He Zheng was unwilling to arrange a quick filming schedule, especially when everyone hadn't fully entered their roles in the early stages of filming. He hoped to have more time so that each scene would be taken seriously.

After finishing the scenes, Xia Xingcheng's first reaction after changing his clothes was to find Yang Youming. In any case, Yang Youming's words had helped him a lot. If he had a chance, he wanted to invite Yang Youming out to dinner with him.

He was in such a hurry that he didn't have time for his assistant to talk to him. Yang Youming was just about to enter his car when Xia Xingcheng chased after him outside.

"Ming ge!" cried Xia Xingcheng.

Yang Youming, who had already had one foot in the car, stepped out and looked back at him.

Xia Xingcheng approached Yang Youming's car. Seeing his assistant Li Yun standing aside, he nodded and greeted her first, and then said to Yang Youming, "I really want to thank you for your help back there today, Ming ge."

Yang Youming smiled, polite yet distant as always, and said: "I'm just doing my job, you don't have to worry about it." Then, without waiting for Xia Xingcheng's response, he put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Keep it up. You're doing great." With that, he turned and got into the car.

The stunned Xia Xingcheng stood in place and watched as Yang Youming's car drove away.

At this time, the cell phone in Xia Xingcheng's pocket suddenly rang. It was Huang Jixin, who called to tell him he'd made an appointment to have dinner with him in the evening.

Xia Xingcheng's agency was a big company, in which there were both big stars and also agents, yet neither he nor Huang Jixin were included in that list.

Now that Xia Xingcheng had joined the cast and crew at the film studio, there was no need for Huang Jixing to accompany him anymore. The company had transferred him to temporarily take care of a newcomer, so Huang Jixin called Xia Xingcheng out for a drink later on that night.

The two of them sat face to face in the private room of a barbeque restaurant, the sizzling meat on the grilling pan oozing with oil. With Huang Jixin also smoking, the whole private room was filled with smoke.

Xia Xingcheng felt a bit euphoric.

Huang Jixin turned over the meat on the grilling pan and said, "I heard you did good today, and that you got into your role quickly."

Xia Xingcheng held a glass of cold beer and wiped the condensation on the glass with his fingers. He couldn't help smiling and said, "I think Yang Youming is a good guy."

Huang Jixin placed the first piece of grilled beef onto Xia Xingcheng's plate with his chopsticks and said, "I think you mentioned he was your idol during your interview when you got into the agency. What's the thing they say about meeting your heroes and all that?"

"He's not like that..." Xia Xingcheng denied, but he thinks Yang Youming is a bit tough to read. "I've been filming for several years now, and I have never met anyone more patient."

Huang Jixin looked at him with a teasing smile, "So, shooting those bed scenes with everyone's dream guy Yang Youming… how's it feel?"

"You can piss off!" Xia Xingcheng cursed.

Yet Huang Jixin did not stop his evil teasing. While passing pieces of beef to Xia Xingcheng, he said, "You haven't seen the votes of those online surveys about sex fantasy partners and who people want a one-night stand with the most in the past two years, have you? Didn't Yang Youming come first in both?"

Xia Xingcheng suddenly thought of yesterday's scene with Yang Youming and how fierce the kiss was. He disguised his sheepiness and said, "I don't usually see that he has that many chicken blood fans."

Huang Jixin pointed at him with his chopsticks, "What do you know? This is the nation's superstar, and the day you become one, it doesn't matter whether you have chicken blood fans or not."

Xia Xingcheng listened and silently took a sip of beer.