Chapter 23

After they finished eating dinner, Mama Fang cleared the table and Fang Jianyuan took the empty beer bottles back to the grocery store for the delivery man to collect the next day.

Yu Haiyang, a guest, would naturally go back to rest.

Although it was already dark out, as the light switch of the grocery store was by the door, Fang Jianyuan was too lazy to turn it on, and the only lightsource came from the kitchen at the back of the store.

Xia Xingcheng, playing Fang Jianyuan, squatted on the ground and put the beer bottles back into the plastic crate one by one. He moved quickly and with a bit of force to vent all the emotions in his heart.

Completely immersed in Fang Jianyuan's emotions, Xia Xingcheng didn't even need to carefully plan out his every movement, and many of his reactions were born out of instinct—he was genuinely angry.

At this time, Yang Youming, playing Yu Haiyang, came and leaned against the door, watching him.

Xia Xingcheng put away the beer bottles, grabbed the edge of the plastic crate and stacked them to one side. When he withdrew his hands, he cut his finger open on the crate's rough edges.

This was not included in the script—it was completely by accident.

However, Xia Xingcheng did not stop. He was already familiar with He Zheng's filming habits, and in He Zheng's mind, there was no fixed method for each and every scene. All he required was one kind of feeling. For He Zheng, as long as it felt right, it was unlikely that he would object even if you changed all your lines.

Xia Xingcheng stood up and lowered his head to see that the cut was gradually oozing blood.

Yang Youming came over.

This accident was also an improvised scene that was not in Yang Youming's script. It depended entirely on his understanding of the characters.

Instead of looking nervous and urgent, he only approached Xia Xingcheng and grabbed his hand gently, lowering his head to glance at the wound, then raised his head and looked Xia Xingcheng directly in the eye. "So, what are you angry about?"

Xia Xingcheng immediately pulled his hand from Yang Youming's grip and said, "Don't worry about it!" He bumped into the stack of crates filled with empty beer bottles behind him and made a noise that wasn't small.

The both of them stopped moving, and Yang Youming subconsciously looked out.

After a while, he lowered his voice and said to Xia Xingcheng, "Are there any band-aids in the store?"

Xia Xingcheng didn't answer. Yang Youming went up to the counter himself and pulled down a band-aid from the long strip that was hanging on the wall.

This was originally a prop that hung in an inconspicuous corner, and if you didn't take a closer look, you probably wouldn't have noticed it. Even the cameraman almost didn't capture it.

It was obvious that Yang Youming hadn't only seen it, but also remembered it.

Returning, he tore open the band-aid, grabbed Xia Xingcheng's hand and carefully applied it onto the cut.

This time, Xia Xingcheng didn't push him away.

Yang Youming helped him cover the cut, but didn't let go of his hand afterwards. He bent down slightly, and when his eyes were level with Xia Xingcheng's, asked, "Why are you not happy? Tell me."

Xia Xingcheng saw Yang Youming's eyes that were full of tenderness.

He turned away, not wanting to get engrossed in them.

Yang Youming grabbed his hand, softly rubbing his palm and fingertips, and Xia Xingcheng felt the warmth and slight coarseness of his touch in the hollow of his palm.

In the stuffy filming studio and the non-air-conditioned grocery store, Yang Youming and Yu Haiyang's whole beings were entirely merged together in front of Xia Xingcheng.

His heartbeat was growing farther and farther away, sweat soaked his back, and he wanted to let go, but at the same time, he was reluctant to break free.

He then couldn't bear to see Yang Youming, who was looking deeply into his eyes, and felt that even his breathing had become obstructed.

Yang Youming suddenly smiled, the corners of his eyes curving down, the corners of his mouth rising.

Xia Xingcheng had no idea that in the eyes of others and the camera monitor, what showed was the image of his flushed cheeks and hesitant expression.

Subsequently, Yang Youming slowly leaned forwards, wanting to kiss his lips.

This part was written in the script. Yu Haiyang wanted to kiss Fang Jianyuan, but Fang Jianyuan was nervous and afraid. Yu Haiyang got pushed back hard, and his back bumped into the door. At first he was a little angry, but afterwards he only laughed and coaxed Fang Jianyuan.

But right then, Xia Xingcheng couldn't recall the contents of the script. He was terrified as well as furious, yet he couldn't figure out why this anger appeared.

When Yang Youming's lips were almost on his lips, at the soft touch, Xia Xingcheng didn't push him away, but instead surprised everyone by suddenly raising his hand and giving Yang Youming a heavy slap on the face.

"PA!" With a crisp echo, it resounded particularly loudly in the quiet film set.

The noise was like a sudden wake-up call for Xia Xingcheng, who was stunned when he returned from the narrow grocery store to the lofty filming studio, immediately feeling muddled.

Yang Youming's face was hit until it tilted to one side. He turned his head and looked back at Xia Xingcheng, unable to conceal the anger on his face. He let go of Xia Xingcheng, turning around and taking large strides towards the back door to leave.

Xia Xingcheng slowly squatted down and buried his face in his hands.

This was the end of the scene, and He Zheng shouted, "Cut!"

The studio lights lit up at the scene, and the bustling staff moved about back and forth, none of them speaking, because everyone knew that in the scene that had passed just a moment ago, there were no circumstances in which there was a slap on the face. Even if there was, it shouldn't have been done with this complete lack of skills. After all, naturally, this was Yang Youming.

Huang Jixin was perhaps the only person who didn't know the contents of the screenplay, and he only sensed the abnormal atmosphere. When he saw Xia Xingcheng finish shooting, the man was still crouching down and hadn't gotten up, so he rushed to help him up before his assistant Xiao Tang could.

When he gripped Xia Xingcheng's shoulders in both hands to ask him what was wrong, he heard Xia Xingcheng whisper, "I'm done for."

Huang Jixin heard his muffled tone that was at its lowest point, and instantly became worried, asking, "What's going on?"

Xia Xingcheng was helped up, and when he raised his head and discovered that it was Huang Jixin, he planted his face into Huang Jixin's shoulder and said, "Jixin, I'm a dead man."

Sensing something amiss, Huang Jixin shot a glance towards Yang Youming and saw that Li Yun, Yang Youming's assistant, was currently applying a wet paper towel to his face.

As Huang Jixin faced them, Yang Youming also looked over, then immediately turned his eyes away.