It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 16

 

ITOTIABSAM | Entertainment Industry | 16

For an advertisement shoot, which requires multiple preparations, you can't just start shooting right away.

But when it came to making money, Zhou Ming was always efficient. The next morning, he coordinated everything and even personally drove to pick up Xie Ye.

"The candies you wanted."

Turning around, Zhou Ming pointed to the plastic bag on the back seat filled with colorful small round cans, and asked, "Why do you suddenly like these? It's quite a niche brand."

It made him search through the supermarket for quite a while.

Xie Ye casually took out a can, opened it, his face covered with a mask, and the brim of his hat pulled down low. He lazily replied, "Habit?"

Yesterday, when he got up hungry and ordered takeout, he discovered that Gu Cong not only cleaned his room spotlessly but also left some candies on the living room coffee table.

Unfortunately, there were only four or five, and he finished them in less than a day.

Zhou Ming remarked, "I thought you wanted to quit smoking."

Xie Ye thought about it seriously, "Well, that’s right."

After all, the first few times he asked Gu Cong for candy, it was indeed because he wanted to bite something.

"Wait a minute," after his joke got an affirmative answer, surprisingly, Zhou Ming stared at him through the rearview mirror, "Xie Ye, have you not smoked for the past few days?"

Xie Ye replied, "Four or five days? I can't remember. There was a night when I just couldn't sleep."

Four or five days.

This frequency sounded almost like quitting smoking to Zhou Ming's ears. Xie Ye smoked heavily privately, only restraining himself in front of the camera and Xue Minglang.

A sudden realization struck Zhou Ming, and he finally remembered where he had seen this candy. Tentatively, he asked, "How are you and Gu Cong... doing?"

How are they doing?

Completely forgetting the misunderstanding when he brought Gu Cong home, Xie Ye truthfully answered, "Pretty good."

Crushing a candy with a snap, he discreetly furrowed his eyebrows.

Zhou Ming, who was already on edge, asked, "What's wrong now?"

"It doesn't taste as good as before," Xie Ye closed the lid with little interest, hands folded on his knees, sitting back, "Did you buy fake ones?"

Zhou Ming: There's a curse word I am not sure if I should say it or not. Do you want to eat candy, or are you thinking about Gu Cong? You decide.

1101's commentary was more cautious, "Is there a possibility, I mean just a possibility, that it's because you caught a cold?"

Xie Ye, leaning against the pillow with closed eyes, refused to answer.

From a neutral standpoint, Zhou Ming and Xie Ye's relationship was purely that of work partners. 

Whoever Xie Ye liked or slept with didn't affect their work, so Zhou Ming was fine with it. In his eyes, if Xie Ye and Gu Cong were together, it was better than chasing after Xue Minglang. The former was easier to handle and seemed more willing.

Zhou Ming negotiated, "You can do whatever you want, just be careful not to get photographed. As an exchange, after filming the variety show, you must pick a script for me to join the crew."

—If there's still a script available by then.

He quietly responding in his mind, Xie Ye was about to brush it off when he suddenly remembered something, "Oh, by the way, Xue Minglang came to my place the night before yesterday."

—

Struggling to keep the car from hitting a tree directly, Zhou Ming repeated, "Xue Minglang?"

Xie Ye replied, "Yes."

Zhou Ming asked, "What did he come for?"

"He asked me why I brought Gu Cong home," Xie Ye narrated the melodramatic plot with a calm demeanor, adding a helpful reminder, "By the way, he left Su Qingyue behind when he came."

Zhou Ming...

This time, Zhou Ming really felt like crashing the car into a tree.

Who in the entertainment industry didn't know about Su Qingyue's brother, who had an extreme brother complex? And now he was bothering the little master of the Su family's entertainment business. Didn't he get enough trouble last time?

Seeing Zhou Ming's evident change in expression, Xie Ye earnestly clarified, "It was Xue Minglang, not me."

Zhou Ming: Who wouldn't be furious if someone really laid hands on their brother's crush? And this person even left his own brother behind.

Because of this incident, Zhou Ming had a furrowed brow throughout the journey. On the other hand, Xie Ye, the main character in this drama, drew the curtains, closed his eyes calmly, and breathed so lightly it seemed like he was a ghost. 

Before getting off the car, he didn't forget to pass two cans of candy to Gu Cong.

Since he came, he might as well settle in. Didn’t he have a cold?

Xie Ye didn't have the habit of being late. Gu Cong, on the other hand, arrived even earlier than him. From a distance, Xie Ye saw him waving, "Brother."

Alright, let's have another round of drinking. Are we even skipping the last name now?

Gently tapping the young man's head with the candy can, Xie Ye, though shorter, exuded an imposing aura, "What should you call me?"

Gu Cong obediently said, "Teacher Xie."

Snap.

The full candy can landed squarely in his hands.

"Reward." Despite dragging the burden of his auxiliary body, Xie Ye approached the designated spot gracefully, "Which one are we shooting today?"

The nearby staff hurriedly stepped forward, "It hasn't been decided yet. We've prepared all three versions from the contract. Let's see which one looks better first?"

For work within a reasonable range, Xie Ye had always been very diligent before resigning. He allowed the makeup artist to apply different styles to his face without complaint, and he cooperated fully, which surprised the advertising director waiting on the side.

Not long ago, he heard complaints from colleagues on "Let’s Travel Together." Xie Ye would deviate from the script during recording, driving the chief director to frustration.

Now, at a glance, the other party seemed not as difficult to deal with as rumored.

Once the styling was confirmed and the shooting began smoothly, this sense of ease became even more pronounced. Xie Ye, who had a background in film and had won major awards, displayed a sensitivity to the camera that ordinary actors and actresses couldn't match. 

Even Gu Cong, who was a bit reserved at first, gradually became natural and even relaxed under Xie Ye's influence.

"Relax your shoulders, relax your shoulders," as a seasoned veteran in the entertainment industry, Xie Ye avoided NG scenes whenever possible. During breaks in shooting, he whispered a reminder, "I'm not a bomb, why are you so nervous?"

Continuing with the director's planned scenes, Gu Cong needed to appear from behind Xie Ye, holding two open yogurt bottles. Playfully, he would stick them to Xie Ye's cheek and, in the moment he turned around, put his arm around Xie Ye, feeding him a sip.

It could be interpreted as good friends having fun, and it also provided sweet moments for the CP fans. Gu Cong performed well in the first half of the scene, but when trying to encircle Xie Ye, he became as stiff as a piece of wood.

1101 teased, "Is he nervous? It's quite normal. Remember when he lent you the headphones? Fans were bombarding the chat with surprise."

Xie Ye replied, "Whether it's nerves or normal doesn't matter. As long as it doesn't affect him after work."

"Get used to it quickly." Xie Ye used the most straightforward method, lifting his arms and hugged Gu Cong. He carefully avoided any smudging of foundation on Gu Cong's clothes.

　"Are you used to it now?"

"Just treat me like a tree or a standing microphone on stage."

How could they be the same?

They had never experienced such intimate and close contact before. The young man in his arms was slim, and his skin felt a bit warm. Even through the layer of fabric, Gu Cong could clearly perceive it.

A subtle fragrance lingered around his nose, the same scent from the shampoo he had borrowed at the young man's home. Which standing microphone would have a scent of cedar?

Gu Cong didn't want to disappoint Xie Ye.

Restraining himself, he raised his hand to hug the other person again. Lowering his head, Gu Cong seemingly unintentionally brushed past the youth's ear with the tip of his nose, affectionately nuzzling him before quickly assuming a proper stance.

"Let's go."

Gu Cong's movements were so swift that for a moment, Xie Ye couldn't quite tell if it was intentional or not. However, maintaining his professional demeanor, he quickly cleared his mind and got into character after greeting the director. The scene resumed shooting.

One take.

Holding Xi Ye, Gu Cong seemed to have tapped into some actor's aura, flawlessly executing even the close-up shots. His sunny and handsome appearance, coupled with an infectious smile, made even the yogurt he drank seem a few degrees more delicious.

On the other hand, Xie Ye was the complete opposite, with a naturally dispirited and world-weary face. He dutifully swallowed the yogurt, effectively arousing the audience's desire to purchase.

...Although the advertising director felt that the latter's performance wasn't entirely acting.

After confirming that there were no additional scenes to reshoot, Xie Ye wiped his mouth with a tissue and headed out. However, his ear was suddenly pinched.

"Indeed, it wasn't just my imagination." Meeting the intense gaze with composure, Gu Cong withdrew his hand and earnestly analyzed, "You never took off your mask even before makeup, and during work, you kept a distance from everyone... except me, of course."

"Is Teacher Xie sick?"

Xie Ye: If you don't play for three days, you'll forget how to catch the ball. That's probably the reason.

However, in the end, he couldn't be bothered to retaliate and lazily replied, "Just a cold."

"Stay away from me to avoid getting infected."

"It's okay, I'm healthy," Gu Cong nonchalantly shook his head, even closing the gap between their shoulders. He got closer to Xie Ye and asked, "Did you take medicine? Teacher Xie, I hope your fridge isn't still the way it was when I left?"

Xie Ye: "No."

There was only a missing bottle of water, and he had taken medicine.

"I cooked ginger soup in the dorm before. It's very sweet and steaming hot. Teacher Xie, would you like to try it?" Gu Cong tried to sell himself with emotion and reason, "We have a variety show recording tomorrow, and today you need to rest well."

Xie Ye's foundation was weak, and even a minor illness like a headache and fever would often linger for a long time. Not to mention ginger soup, even intravenous drips might not cure him.

However, Gu Cong's simple two adjectives surprisingly created a bit of anticipation in him. His Adam's apple rolled slightly, and his sluggish tongue seemed to have already tasted a hint of sweetness.

"What? Do you want to go in with me?"

Even when they reached the dressing room, Gu Cong showed no intention of stopping. Xie Ye used his eyes to signal him to stay put and entered, saying, "Five minutes, don't be late."

The seemingly dejected young man immediately smiled, "Okay!"

So, ten minutes later, when Zhou Ming got on the car after exchanging pleasantries with the director, he saw an extra person in the back seat, someone familiar with a radiant smile.

Gu Cong?

They just met the day before, and he's already this clingy?

Not quite understanding the complex emotions in the other's eyes, Gu Cong hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to greet, "Hello, Manager Zhou. Teacher Xie is not feeling well, and I'm worried. I want to help take care of him and leave when he's rested."

Zhou Ming was surprised, "You're sick?"

"Yeah," Gu Cong casually nodded, and Xie Ye added, "It won't affect the work."

Zhou Ming, who didn't show any unusual signs from morning till evening, thought to himself: I suspect you're acting, but I can't say for sure.

...What if he's actually acting as Gu Cong?

Movie stars have many tricks up their sleeves.

He still remembered the tricks the other used when pursuing Xue Minglang back then.

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The author has something to say:

Gu Cong: What tricks? I want them too (stares).