"The Scum, scene thirteen, shot two, take one!!"

Inside the private room, under the colorful lights, a few men and a dozen female models were laughing and fooling around. Ye Lan sat right in the middle, his face slightly flushed, clearly already drunk. One hand rested on the back of the sofa while the other slammed a few playing cards onto the coffee table. He laughed loudly, "What's going on?! I lost again? Did you all conspire against me?"

A model closest to him gave him a seductive look. "Who conspired? You must be letting us win on purpose, right? But we agreed, one bottle of alcohol for every loss."

"Bring it, bring it... You think I'm scared of you? But let's get this straight, whatever we open today, you all have to drink..." Ye Lan leaned forward to grab the cards, but his drunken state made him clumsy, and he missed. He swayed and said, "Forget it, let's not play this anymore..."

A girl laughed, "Okay, I don't like playing this either."

Ye Lan looked at the girl and smiled gently. "You say it, what should we play?"

"Let's pass a French fry." The girl bit her lip and smilingly picked up a long French fry from the platter provided by the room. "Each person takes a bite. Whoever is last when it's gone is the loser."

Drunk and dazed, Ye Lan hesitated for a second before understanding where the "fun" of this game lay. He laughed with delight, "Good! This one's good!"

Ye Lan stood up, picked up a French fry, and held it in his mouth. He casually pulled a girl into his arms. The girl feigned resistance as she took the French fry with her mouth. Ye Lan waited until she had a firm hold before biting off a piece, then laughingly pushed the girl towards another man in the room.

When Jiang Chi pushed the door open, what he saw was the scene of extravagance inside the room, with Ye Lan, under the ambiguous lighting, drunkenly laughing and passing a French fry with his mouth to other girls.

Jiang Chi frowned abruptly and turned his face away, not looking.

A moment later, Jiang Chi's eyes swept across the people in the room from left to right. He muttered to himself, "What's so... fun about this, anyway."

The impossibly short French fry was passed to Ye Lan's mouth. He smiled and pulled a girl over. Before he could make a move, Jiang Chi strode forward, grabbed his arm, and pushed him onto the sofa.

"Ah, fu..." Ye Lan looked up in confusion. The French fry in his mouth dropped as he spoke. Seeing it was Jiang Chi, he unconsciously swallowed the half-uttered curse. His anger turned to delight, and he said lazily, "Why are you here? Come, come... let me introduce you to a girl..."

Jiang Chi tried his best to endure it. "Are you leaving or not? If not... do whatever you want tomorrow."

Ye Lan's interest had waned, but seeing the faint trace of real anger in Jiang Chi's eyes, he gave an awkward smile, stood up, and sighed. "Alright, party's over, party's over. That's it for today... What? Who's this? This is my ancestor! You know him?!"

"Cut!"

The noisy music stopped instantly. The extra models immediately stood up, standing reservedly to the side. Ye Lan smiled at the girls, "Sorry, sorry."

"No, no, it's for the scene." A bolder girl said, "Besides... I was the one who took advantage of you."

Everyone laughed.

Ye Lan looked at Ren Haichuan. Ren Haichuan was frowning, and after watching the playback, he was not very satisfied.

But rarely, this time his dissatisfaction was with Ye Lan.

Ren Haichuan looked at Ye Lan and said, "The emotional burst isn't focused enough. Let's change the scene a bit. Loosen up more!"

Ye Lan let out a laugh and glanced at the row of trembling female extras beside him. "Loosen up more?"

Ren Haichuan said, "I didn't tell you to loosen up with them. With Jiang Chi, with Pei Ran. The emotional conflict when you see him isn't obvious enough."

Ye Lan replayed the scene in his mind and asked, "Add a line?"

Ren Haichuan silently shook his head. He and the scriptwriter had meticulously crafted every single word of the script for the storyboard; not a single bit could be changed.

Ren Haichuan, Ye Lan, and Jiang Chi reviewed the script again. Ren Haichuan made the final decision: "Let's change it. Pei Ran doesn't push you onto the sofa. He pulls you up right when you're about to kiss that woman. You two can add some physical contact to make the conflict more obvious. The impact just now wasn't enough."

Everyone nodded. Following Ren Haichuan's instructions, they reshot the scene starting from when Ye Lan passed the French fry.

"Cut!"

After a few more takes, Ren Haichuan was still not satisfied.

"Zhan Ming needs to be more of a bastard at this moment..."

Ye Lan's eyes stung from the smoke in the room. He frowned upon hearing this and said, "Then what should I do? Any more movement will be too exaggerated."

Ren Haichuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Be a bit more wild."

Everyone desperately tried to hold back their laughter.

Ye Lan scoffed lightly, "How do I be wild?"

Ren Haichuan said coldly, "Just act naturally."

Jiang Chi: "Pfft!"

Ye Lan instantly looked at Jiang Chi. Jiang Chi immediately straightened his face, not daring to laugh again.

Ye Lan gritted his teeth at Ren Haichuan. "You're still holding a grudge because I said I'd just wing this scene, aren't you?"

Ren Haichuan said angrily, "What are you thinking?! Straighten up your attitude! One minute to prepare. If it's not a pass, we'll shoot it again!"

Ye Lan loosened his collar and sat back down in his spot.

Jiang Chi whispered, "Good luck, Brother Ye Lan."

Ye Lan raised an eyebrow at Jiang Chi, then suddenly smiled.

"The Scum, scene thirteen, shot two, take seven!!"

The impossibly short French fry reached Ye Lan's mouth. A smile played on his lips, as if he were holding a cigarette. His hazy gaze swept over the many girls sitting on the sofa. After choosing one, he supported himself with one hand on the sofa and leaned down to pass it to her. Just as the two were about to kiss, Jiang Chi grabbed Ye Lan's arm and yanked him up.

"Ah, damn it..." Ye Lan turned around in a daze, and the French fry in his mouth fell out as he spoke. He paused for a second before realizing it was Jiang Chi. He smiled, and without the slightest hesitation, turned the tables by pulling Jiang Chi in and kissing him directly.

Jiang Chi: "!"

Ye Lan seemed truly dazed, either not caring who it was, or using Jiang Chi to compensate for the kiss he had ruined. He pulled the person into his arms without any resistance and kissed him wantonly.

...

After half a second of shock, Jiang Chi quickly adjusted his emotions. His flustered hands hesitated, wanting to hug Ye Lan back, yet not daring to.

Ye Lan's eyes were half-open. He gave Jiang Chi's lips a peck before letting him go, murmuring, "Why are you here? Come, come... let me introduce you to a girl..."

Jiang Chi took a big step back, looking around at the people in embarrassment. He managed to say, "Are you leaving or not? If not... do whatever you want tomorrow."

Ye Lan licked his lips, his interest having waned. He sighed, "Alright, party's over, party's over. That's it for today... What? Who did I just kiss? This is my ancestor! You know him?!"

"Cut!"

Ren Haichuan's brows finally relaxed. He gave a thumbs-up. "That's a wrap!"

Jiang Chi's ears, cheeks, and even his neck turned red. He was in a daze, speaking incoherently, "I... I didn't know there was a kiss. Did I... did I cooperate well?"

"It's not your fault, I added it at the last minute." Ye Lan wiped his own lips with his thumb and smiled, "Your reaction was very good."