Chapter 33

Lu Wen rushed out of the bathroom to look at the clock on the wall. Eleven-thirty, a time when children were dreaming, high school seniors were burning the midnight oil, fashionable men and women were tumbling in bed, and couples were snuggling under the covers.

Qu Yanting called at this very moment, telling him to go over, so direct it was completely undisguised.

"Wh... What?" Lu Wen hoped it was a mistake. "I didn't hear you clearly..."

Qu Yanting repeated, "Come over. To my room."

The chandelier cast a hazy glow, illuminating Lu Wen's mind until it went blank. He was panicking, standing there like a large mop stuck to the floor, dripping water all over, his words trembling, "I... I'm already asleep."

Qu Yanting said, "Then get up."

Lu Wen's vision went dark, and a blaze of anxiety flared up in him. "It's so late! What do you want me to come over for?"

Qu Yanting answered, "There are changes to scene 78. Come over and look at the script. I need to help you run lines."

Lu Wen almost laughed in anger. Did Qu Yanting think he was stupid? Sneaking into a room in the middle of the night, using an excuse like looking at the script—who the hell would believe that?!

"Hurry up," Qu Yanting said before hanging up.

The dial tone sounded, and Lu Wen's heart turned cold. He didn't have the power to refuse, unless he didn't want to stay in the industry anymore. But once he stepped through that door, would that be equivalent to accepting Qu Yanting's casting couch proposition?

That night, the scene of Ruan Feng's late-night meeting with Qu Yanting was still vivid in his mind.

Times had changed, and now it was his turn.

A layer of goosebumps rose on Lu Wen's skin as he anxiously imagined how Qu Yanting would coerce and entice him, and how he should defend his bottom line and integrity.

No matter what, he would absolutely not have a physical relationship with Qu Yanting. Besides, he probably couldn't get hard for a man, right?

Lu Wen calmed himself down and felt slightly better. He was a sturdy man of one meter eighty-eight; he'd deal with whatever came his way. Was he really afraid Qu Yanting would force himself on him?

To be on the safe side, Lu Wen opened his contacts list and found his three childhood friends who were like brothers to him: Gu Zhuoyan, Su Wang, and Lian Yiming.

Among them, Gu Zhuoyan was gay. In high school, he had already come out, had his first love, and his first night, all in one go; one could call him a prodigy among gays. Lu Wen skipped over him first. He was about to be subjected to the casting couch by a man; he was feeling a bit homophobic.

Lian Yiming was the most mature and steady, but he was quite kind-hearted. After some consideration, Lu Wen called the quick-witted and ruthless Su Wang.

The call connected after two rings. Su Wang's "hello" cut through the helpless, lonely night. Hearing his good brother's voice, Lu Wen was moved and said, "Bro, it's me."

"How could I not know it's you?" Su Wang said. "What's wrong, Male Lead Number One? Aren't the nights in Chongqing fiery hot?"

Too hot, Lu Wen said, "I guessed you weren't asleep. Working overtime?"

Su Wang worked in private equity, a senior partner, a golden elite in the eyes of others, but he liked to put himself down. "You bet. I'm tired of talking about the hardships of a financial migrant worker."

Lu Wen said considerately, "You should get some rest."

Su Wang was as sharp as a hawk. "Spit it out, what's happened?"

Lu Wen found it hard to say, so he made up an excuse: "I have a social engagement later that I can't get out of. Give me a call in an hour."

Su Wang understood immediately. "To help you get away, right?"

"Right. Can you play along?" Lu Wen asked.

Su Wang said disdainfully, "Piece of cake. We have that kind of rapport."

With the arrangements made, Lu Wen went to get dressed, slipping into his packed walk-in closet.

After hanging up, Qu Yanting took a quick shower. It would probably be very late by the time they finished running lines, so he could go straight to bed afterward.

Just as he was about to dry his hair, the doorbell rang. Qu Yanting went to open it, his expression initially blank, but after pulling the door open, his pupils dilated slightly.

Outside the door, Lu Wen was wearing a complex three-piece suit. The shirt was meticulously buttoned to the top, under a waistcoat with hidden buttons and a double-breasted jacket. The pants were slim-fit, tucked into a pair of shiny short boots. Over it all was a heavy cashmere overcoat, with a wool scarf wrapped around his neck.

Qu Yanting thought an Eskimo had arrived and asked strangely, "Why are you dressed like that?"

'It's harder to take off this way, gives me a sense of security,' Lu Wen answered, "It's a bit cold at night. I have a cold constitution."

Qu Yanting was half-doubting, but stepped aside to let him pass. "Come in."

Lu Wen steeled himself and followed Qu Yanting into the room. He noticed the pink rims of Qu Yanting's ears and his dripping hair; this damp appearance was clearly because he had just showered.

As for the reason for the shower, it was self-evident—it was to welcome him.

Walking into the living room, Lu Wen wiped away some sweat when Qu Yanting wasn't looking. On the coffee table were a computer and a script, as well as paper and pens. The scene was set up quite realistically.

The hotel didn't have a photocopier, so they could only look at the digital file. Qu Yanting placed the computer on a corner of the coffee table, and he and Lu Wen sat on the carpet, separated by the corner of the table.

Dressed too warmly, and being a big guy, Lu Wen twisted his body uncomfortably. He strongly suspected that looking at the script was a fabrication and asked, "Teacher Qu, where's the revised script?"

Qu Yanting pressed the trackpad, and the screen lit up, revealing the script for scene 78.

Lu Wen had to hand it to him; Qu Yanting was trying way too hard to get into his pants.

"Read it over first," Qu Yanting said.

Lu Wen's chin was tucked into his scarf. He lowered his brows and raised his eyes, peering over the edge of the coffee table at the person beside him. Qu Yanting sat there, two fists' lengths away, his refined nose bridge glistening under the light, his expression as serene as a gentleman's.

He was peeking, and the sight threw his heart into disarray. And while all sorts of chaotic emotions floated on the surface of his heart, what lay deepest was actually a sense of loss. Because all the help and care he had been grateful for were merely Qu Yanting's tactics.

Suddenly, Qu Yanting looked back, his eyelashes fluttering lightly like the beating of a butterfly's wings.

Lu Wen immediately looked away and said guiltily, "I've finished reading."

"Mm, I'll stand in for Teacher Yang." Qu Yanting gestured with his chin toward the paper and pen on the coffee table. "Let's run through the lines once. Take good notes."

The blank paper was under a notebook. Lu Wen yanked it out clumsily, sending the notebook flying onto the carpet. He picked it up by its leather cover, and a few sheets of lined paper fell out from between the loose pages.

Lu Wen picked them up and recognized the handwriting. It was his. He had crouched at the door, slipping them under the door one by one. Qu Yanting had actually kept them all this time without throwing them away.

'He didn't keep them as a love token, did he?'

The notebook contained important work matters. Qu Yanting snatched it back, tucked those few sheets of paper inside, and shot him a look that scolded, 'Reckless'.

'This is probably what they call being shy,' Lu Wen thought.

As for coaching the scene, the emotions were very delicate, and Qu Yanting explained it line by line. Lu Wen bent over the coffee table to take notes. His good handwriting was something Lu Zhanqing had forced him to practice as a child, but he wrote very slowly.

Qu Yanting slowed his pace of speech, vaguely recalling dictating new vocabulary to his younger brother. After one run-through, he handed over a red pen. "Next time, we'll work on the details. Use red to mark them."

The short-sleeved shirt under Lu Wen's clothes was already soaked with sweat. He secretly glanced at his watch—it was almost twelve-thirty. 'Does the foreplay really need to be this long...' He even wondered, 'After going through all this, will Qu Yanting still have the energy to do me?'

'Then again, I'm the one who's supposed to be doing all the work.'

'But Qu Yanting's back is bad. Can he handle anything too vigorous?'

Lu Wen's mind drifted into outer space. His body was hot, his heart was abashed, his face was as if it had been painted with a red pen, and his forehead was dripping with sweat. Suddenly, with a smack, his shoulder was slapped.

"Fuck!" Lu Wen roared; he couldn't accept the spanking type. "Why the hell did you hit me?"

Qu Yanting's index finger jabbed at the paper. "Why are you writing my name?"

Lu Wen was startled. Sure enough, the three characters for "Qu Yanting" were written on the paper, followed by a red curve drawn by the pen tip. He lifted his scarf to wipe his sweat, searching for an excuse as he wiped. "I..."

Lu Wen stammered. Just then, his phone rang. It was Su Wang, calling right on time.

He answered with a serious air. He had a plan: even if he couldn't get away, at least he could make it clear to Qu Yanting that he was straight and already taken.

"Hello?" Lu Wen said through gritted teeth. "—Babe."

Qu Yanting glanced over, a flicker of surprise and curiosity in his eyes, which then turned to displeasure. They hadn't finished their work yet, and this Idiot was first absent-minded, and now on a personal call?

With whom? The pretty nurse, the person he was dating, or someone else?

It was actually the financial migrant worker, Su Wang: "You motherf..."

"You want flowers?" Lu Wen interrupted. "I'll order them for you tomorrow. How about roses?"

Su Wang said, "Has the food in Chongqing spiced your brain stupid?"

"I didn't go out to have fun, I'm just at the hotel," Lu Wen said with a tender expression. "I can't rest yet, and I can't sleep alone."

Su Wang said, "Damn it, now I'm homophobic too!"

"Be good. I'll take you to Hongya Cave next time." Lu Wen was really getting into his act. "What, a video call? I'm afraid it's not very convenient..."

Su Wang had had enough. "Tonight, we sever ties. I wish you a bright future."

Lu Wen hurriedly tried to save the situation. "Babe, don't be mad!"

The call was disconnected. The living room fell silent, a silence more telling than words. Lu Wen saw Qu Yanting frowning and understood that he was frustrated and jealous. Just as he was about to add more fuel to the fire, his phone beeped again.

Lu Wen opened it. It was a last-minute notice from the director's assistant: work would start at four-thirty tomorrow morning to shoot scene 78 ahead of schedule.

Lu Wen was thrown into chaos. Qu Yanting hadn't been lying to him?!

"Can we continue now?" Qu Yanting's patience had run out as he asked coldly.

A drop of sweat fell from Lu Wen. He nodded. Qu Yanting gave him a lazy and disdainful sidelong glance. "Tomorrow morning, you'll run through the scene with Teacher Yang, and then we'll shoot officially. You must be perfectly prepared tonight."

The late-night tryst was over. It had turned into a one-on-one session with a master teacher.

After carefully going over the details, the two of them ran lines in character. They went through it four times in total, and once they had a smooth grasp of it, Lu Wen started memorizing his lines.

Qu Yanting's mouth was dry. He pulled over a small bowl and popped a grape into his mouth. It was a habit he'd developed as a child, an addiction; he couldn't stop after just one. Skillfully peeling the skin and spitting out the seeds, he ate almost half the bowl in the blink of an eye.

His hands sticky with fruit juice, he got up to wash them.

Lu Wen had almost finished memorizing. His legs, bent for so long, had gone numb, and he wanted to sit up.

He used the sofa to support himself, and not paying attention, his hand pressed down on the remote control. Beep beep—the projector started, automatically connected to the system, and lit up, displaying the screen from when it was last turned off.

Heaven's Echo, the movie that Ye Shan and his father never got to finish watching.

Qu Yanting returned to the living room after washing his hands, froze for a moment when he saw the projection screen, then immediately rushed over, grabbed the remote, and forcefully pressed the off button.

The screen went dark. Lu Wen came back to his senses. "This movie—"

"Have you memorized your lines or not?" Qu Yanting interrupted him.

Lu Wen answered, "I have."

Qu Yanting issued an order to leave. "Go back to your room. Get some sleep."

Lu Wen walked out silently, his steps a little heavy. One phone call had summoned him, and one sentence sent him away. Coming and going, it was all Qu Yanting's decision.

Reaching the entryway, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Are you angry?"

Qu Yanting bent over to tidy the coffee table, not making a sound.

Lu Wen explained of his own accord, "I didn't mean to touch it. I'm sorry."

The door opened and closed; the person was gone. Qu Yanting stopped and sat wearily on the sofa, the sleepiness he should have felt in the middle of the night having vanished into thin air.

On the computer screen, the few revised scenes were sorted by date. Scene 78 was the last revised scene. Qu Yanting's mission in Chongqing was complete.

At four-thirty, the sky was pitch-black. The crew on set were yawning repeatedly.

Lu Wen had his makeup done, but it couldn't hide the dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't been able to sleep after leaving Qu Yanting's room, so he had come straight to work, waiting listlessly for his scene.

When Yang Bin arrived, the father and son in the drama ran through the scene, and filming began.

The camera zoomed in, and the red veins in Lu Wen's eyes were clearly visible. For the moment, he thought of nothing else, focusing only on his performance, the notes from when he ran lines with Qu Yanting appearing in his mind.

When to escalate the emotions, which words should have a rising or falling intonation, the crucial junctures, the number of seconds to pause—Qu Yanting had taught him each of these. It was as if Lu Wen had all the answers, able to act effortlessly even opposite a veteran actor.

The scene was filmed until broad daylight.

Lu Wen changed clothes and continued with the daytime shoot, working without sleep for seven or eight hours. When they wrapped at noon, he finally relaxed. He didn't even eat, just dove into his trailer to sleep.

He didn't dare to oversleep, getting up after regaining a bit of energy. Lu Wen washed his face and returned to the residential area set, where he found a large crowd gathered at the end of the building, all gathered around the grapevine.

Lu Wen went to see what the commotion was about and was drawn by a large bouquet of flowers under the rest canopy, and a cream cake on which was written, "Congratulations to Teacher Yang Bin on wrapping."

Under the grapevine, Yang Bin was filming his final scene.

Lu Wen circled around to the balcony of 101, watching from a moderate distance. He had very few scenes with Yang Bin; they mostly existed in dreams, because Father Ye had passed away when Ye Shan was only eight years old.

A pair of twin boys played the childhood versions of Ye Shan and Ye Xiaowu. At this moment, under the grapevine, Father Ye was holding Ye Xiaowu.

Each actor had relatively independent scenes, so for Lu Wen, this one was somewhat unfamiliar.

Ye Xiaowu was sick with a fever. He had made a huge fuss about getting a shot, and had been clinging to Father Ye ever since returning from the clinic. Father Ye held him as he sat under the grapevine, a small bowl of grapes on the table.

"Dad," the young actor said in his childish voice, "the grapes are so big."

Father Ye peeled one and fed it to him. "Is it sweet?"

Ye Xiaowu's cheeks puffed out as he ate. He asked innocently, "Dad, did you pick them from the vine?"

Father Ye answered, "Yes. Every time you have a fever and eat grapes, Dad is the one who picks them."

"But..." Ye Xiaowu mumbled, "Yesterday, I looked up from below, why didn't I see any?"

Father Ye laughed and said, "You can eat a whole bowl every time. When the grapes see you, they get scared and hide."

Ye Xiaowu was clearly taken aback for a moment, but he believed him. He picked up the bowl of grapes, his two small hands skillfully peeling the skin and popping them into his mouth, eating one after another.

Father Ye asked, "Getting into it, are we?"

Ye Xiaowu said, "While there are still some, I have to eat them quickly!"

As the director yelled "cut," cheers erupted on set. Everyone shouted, "Happy wrap, Teacher Yang Bin!" The bouquet was presented, and the large cake was wheeled out.

Lu Wen, however, stood rooted to the spot. He slowly turned around and looked up. Qu Yanting hadn't come to the set, and there was no one on the balcony of 101.

It was extremely lively around the grapevine. He quietly gazed at the window, thinking of the person who ate the grapes, feeling an emptiness inside his heart.