Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The biting cold wind howled past, blowing down withered yellow leaves from the branches.

Pei Chuzhi wore only a knitted long dress, leaning slightly back against the cool tree trunk.

She slowly steadied her breathing and immersed herself in Jiang Nanyan’s world.

The lighting technician was still making final adjustments, but her thoughts gradually drifted away from the noisy surroundings. She slightly raised her head and focused on Zhong Li, treating him as the suitor in the drama.

However, Zhong Li seemed as if his neck had rusted, lowering his head in an awkward posture. His wide eyes didn’t look like he was gazing affectionately at a woman he had loved for years, but rather like interrogating a criminal suspect.

“Who are you trying to scare like that?”

Pei Chuzhi’s tone unconsciously shifted into Jiang Nanyan’s voice, carrying a hint of arrogance.

Zhong Li swallowed a few times unconsciously. “I… I’ve never acted in a kissing scene.”

“Neither have I.” Her gaze drifted to Zhong Li’s clenched fists, then she suddenly chuckled softly. “It’s just a borrowed-angle shot anyway. Relax, okay?”

Zhong Li patted his cheeks and moved his facial muscles. “Okay.”

Then he widened his eyes even more fiercely.

“…What are you two doing? Huh?”

The director, who had been explaining nearby, shook his head repeatedly and first addressed Pei Chuzhi, whose issue was lighter. “Jiang Nanyan already has feelings for Ji Xining now. You need to show the emotional layers. This is a character’s emotional outburst, but you’re too flat right now.”

Pei Chuzhi nodded. “Okay.”

The director then looked at Zhong Li, hands on hips, and sighed deeply. “You’re even more outrageous. She’s the woman you’ve loved for years, not the enemy who killed your whole family. Why are you standing there all upright and rigid?”

The phrase “upright and rigid” made Zhong Li extremely embarrassed.

After half a month of working together, he had already realized his acting wasn’t as good as Pei Chuzhi’s. Combined with the pressure of filming a kissing scene and the strange feeling of being watched, he didn’t even know where to put his hands.

Seeing his state, the director knew he wasn’t in character at all, so he patted his shoulder and gestured for him to step aside. “Watch me demonstrate. First, like this, lightly place your hand on her shoulder…”

Just as his palm was about to touch Pei Chuzhi, he suddenly shivered.

A flash of survival instinct made him abruptly come to his senses.

Come to think of it…

Didn’t Pei Chuzhi have rumors with Xing Ye?

Pei Chuzhi watched as the director, as if possessed by Zhong Li, turned his head stiffly like a robot, his voice dry. “Teacher Xing, why don’t you guide them?”

At the end of countless gazes, Xing Ye slowly lifted his eyelids. After seeming to consider for a few seconds, he leisurely stood and walked over.

“Guide what?”

His tone was calm, as if he hadn’t been staring this way the whole time.

“This kissing scene—could you demonstrate for them? Pei Chuzhi’s state also needs adjustment. I remember your resume said you filmed an advertisement together, hahaha, you’re acquaintances, maybe easier to find the feeling.”

Xing Ye’s dark eyes fell lightly on Pei Chuzhi’s face. “Is that okay?”

Pei Chuzhi admired her own reaction. In an instant she withdrew from Jiang Nanyan’s role and professionally gave a charming smile, her voice carrying both anticipation and shyness. “Thank you, Teacher Xing.”

Xing Ye raised his brows. “No need to thank me. It’s my duty.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the man’s tall figure moved closer.

The faint scent of laundry detergent followed the cold winter air, gradually clinging to Pei Chuzhi’s breathing.

Xing Ye was taller than Zhong Li. In the same position, she suddenly felt as if she were trapped in a completely controlled space.

Pei Chuzhi became inexplicably nervous. “Do you know Ji Xining’s character setting?”

He wasn’t supposed to be this arrogant.

“Yeah, I just read the script.”

Xing Ye placed one hand on her shoulder and gently but firmly pulled her into his arms. At the same time, he lowered his head slightly, his usually pressed lips curving into an elegant arc.

After a breath, even his voice dropped low and hoarse with bitterness: “You have so much love—can you give me a little?”

He was saying Ji Xining’s line.

Zhong Li, watching from the side, silently straightened up.

Clearly he was the one most familiar with Ji Xining, and his appearance and temperament were the closest to him, yet at this moment he felt shaken.

Pei Chuzhi was equally surprised.

The person standing before her now was no longer Xing Ye. His dejected gaze and restrained tone were all that gentle and helpless Ji Xining from the script.

Bitterness and regret intertwined and spread through her heart.

Pei Chuzhi’s fingertips trembled slightly as she slowly touched his cheek. Countless words piled in her chest, yet she didn’t know where to begin.

Xing Ye caught her fingertips and pressed them against his chest, as if doing so would let her feel how deep his love was.

His other hand moved along her shoulder, slowly brushing aside the strands of hair falling over her, his eyes holding both cherishment and longing. All those emotions combined, and in the end they could only turn into a sigh-like murmur.

“Nanyan…”

After that one call, Xing Ye leaned down and kissed her.

The lights softly illuminated them, the north wind still howling, yet his breath was like burning flames, igniting the deepest stirrings in Pei Chuzhi’s heart.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether she was Pei Chuzhi or Jiang Nanyan.

She only remembered that the waves of bitterness and sweetness in her heart all burst forth because of the man before her.

Silence surrounded them.

After a long while, Xing Ye lifted his head.

He released the thumb pressed against Pei Chuzhi’s lips and stepped back two paces to create distance.

Pei Chuzhi’s ears had turned red.

She subconsciously wanted to bite her lips to hide her shyness, but was afraid others would misunderstand and think she was still lingering on that borrowed-angle kiss, so she could only flutter her lashes and try her best to appear calm.

The director clapped repeatedly. “I almost wanted to say, ‘This take passed.’”

He turned and lifted his chin toward Zhong Li, full of expectation. “Act like Teacher Xing, see? Don’t carry too much psychological burden. We all know it’s fake, but you have to make it look real.”

“I understand, I get it.”

For the first time observing an actor of Best-Actor caliber at close range, Zhong Li couldn’t hide his excitement. “Thank you, Teacher Xing.”

Xing Ye gave a noncommittal “Mm.” “And you—did you learn it?”

His voice was very soft, directed at Pei Chuzhi.

Pei Chuzhi covered her ears as if she were cold. “…I learned it.”

She was still a bit dazed.

When Xing Ye called her “Nanyan” just now, he had lowered his voice to the deepest register. It was only acting, yet those two words sounded exactly like intimate whispers between lovers.

Now that she had withdrawn from the role, the more she recalled it, the more she could taste how sexy his lowered voice had been.

No wonder actresses who had worked with him all liked to say acting with him was an enjoyment.

Before, Pei Chuzhi thought those were lines they prepared to ride his popularity. Now it seemed there might also be some genuine, uncontrollable feeling mixed in.

She secretly raised her eyes, wanting to see whether Xing Ye felt as at a loss as she did.

However, what came into view was him speaking clearly with the director for a few moments, then turning and walking to a spot outside the camera.

Her heart suddenly felt a trace of disappointment.

Pei Chuzhi froze, then laughed at herself.

What was she thinking? It was just acting.

Just as the director said, no matter how real it looked, it was ultimately fake.

As soon as Xing Ye returned to his seat, someone came over to speak with him, probably thanking him for coming to make a cameo and even helping guide the newcomers’ acting on site.

He nodded noncommittally, then lazily lowered his eyes, looking at the smear of bright red on his fingertip.

Then he smiled in an ambiguous way.

·

Considering that Pei Chuzhi and Zhong Li were both filming a kissing scene for the first time, the production team had specially reserved extra time for it.

But because Xing Ye personally stepped in to guide them, the two filmed much more smoothly than expected.

The hardest part didn’t take too long, so the rest of their scenes could naturally be shot ahead of schedule.

Pei Chuzhi wrapped up two hours earlier than planned.

She had a minor injury and didn’t push herself to be that dedicated. After informing the production team, she returned to the hotel to rest.

Before leaving, she looked around and realized Xing Ye had already disappeared.

So he really came just to watch the kissing scene.

The filming location was only about ten minutes from the hotel.

After getting out of the car, before Xu Lei entered the lobby, she suddenly slapped her forehead. “Ah, I left your medicine at the set.”

“Then give me a room card.”

Pei Chuzhi tightened her down jacket and reached out. “I’ll go back first and look at tomorrow’s script.”

After seeing off her hurried assistant, Pei Chuzhi turned and walked into the hotel.

The warm air coming toward her made her feel alive again, and even her ankle, frozen outdoors all afternoon, hurt less.

She walked through the lobby and turned right into the corridor before the elevators, then abruptly stopped.

The man who had run off after watching the kissing scene was standing there.

The ceiling spotlights generously focused their light on him alone, casting more refined shadows along his outline.

Xiao Zhou, carrying big and small bags beside Xing Ye, also saw her and waved enthusiastically. “Miss Pei!”

Pei Chuzhi waved back.

Hearing the voice, Xing Ye turned his head. “Finished filming?”

“Yeah, what a coincidence.”

Pei Chuzhi composed herself, smiled, and stood in front of the elevator. “I heard you’re treating the whole crew to dinner tonight?”

Xing Ye raised his brows. “Are you going?”

Pei Chuzhi hesitated for a moment.

Logically, her ankle sprain required rest and dietary restrictions. Filming was work, but unnecessary social gatherings over the next couple of days were best avoided.

But it was rare for her and Xing Ye to be in the same crew. To truly carry out their plan of hyping the CP, a group dinner was a rare opportunity.

They could make some suggestive gestures at the table so others would spread the news later and cut off certain actresses’ thoughts of using Xing Ye for publicity.

This few seconds of hesitation looked different to Xiao Zhou, who knew nothing.

Oh no, was Miss Pei still angry about last time?

He looked sympathetically at Xing Ye, thinking that as an assistant he had to step forward at a critical moment.

So Xiao Zhou cleared his throat and said loudly, “Miss Pei, you should come. Brother Ye asked me to find a restaurant with light flavors, and it’s not far from the hotel. Everyone will drive there and back, so you won’t have to walk much.”

Still not satisfied, he added in a low voice, “Brother Ye came early especially for you.”

Xing Ye: “?”

Wasn’t the reason he came early because a blizzard somewhere canceled the originally scheduled brand event?

Pei Chuzhi twitched the corner of her mouth, really unable to refuse Xiao Zhou’s puppy eyes. “Alright, I’ll attend tonight.”

After a few casual lines, the elevator doors arrived at the first floor.

After entering, Xiao Zhou first pressed the top floor, then proactively asked, “Miss Pei, which floor?”

“Fifth floor, thank you.”

Xing Ye, who hadn’t spoken for a while, said slowly at this moment, “We have scenes together tomorrow. How’s your preparation?”

Pei Chuzhi was startled. “It’s okay, but I plan to go back to my room and go over the script a few more times.”

With a “ding,” the doors slowly opened. The fifth floor had arrived.

Just as Pei Chuzhi was about to step out quickly, the man beside her raised his hand and blocked her path.

Xing Ye lowered his head slightly, his voice calm as it fell beside her ear:

“Perfect then. Come to my room and rehearse.”

Author’s note: Next chapter enters VIP. A long chapter will be posted then. Those who comment within 24 hours on the first three chapters can receive a small red envelope~

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[Next book: “When I Like You, It’s Like Seeing Spring Light”]

Gloomy reasoning genius vs healing-type rookie editor

Rumor has it that the reasoning genius Zhou Yanchuan is handsome, cold, and abstinent. It’s only because of his prominent family background that he insists on not showing his face and staying low-key.

Only the senior editors at the magazine know:

Zhou Yanchuan’s personality is gloomy and solitary. No one has ever been able to tolerate his unpredictable temper.

When Lin Wan went to Zhou Yanchuan’s house for the first time, recalling her senior’s warning, she carefully pressed the doorbell.

When the door opened, she spoke nervously: “Hello, I’m the new editor, Lin Wan…”

After a while with no response, Lin Wan looked up and saw shimmering spring light shining into his beautiful peach blossom eyes.

But the man’s expression was cold as ice, even his voice steeped in chill. “Who told you to come?”

After hearing about Lin Wan’s miserable experience, everyone thought the little girl would cry and resign within half a year.

Until before a certain month’s deadline, someone heard Lin Wan making a call in the office: “Is this issue’s manuscript finished? If you don’t submit it, I’ll go to your house tonight and take apart all your wall puzzles.”

The colleagues were shocked. Who didn’t know Zhou Yanchuan loved his puzzle collection most? If anyone touched it, he could flip out on the spot.

However, the next second, the man’s lazy and calm tone came through the phone: “Okay, I’ll wait for you tonight.”

“—For every puzzle you dismantle, I’ll kiss you once.”