Chapter 19

During the final day’s shoot, there was a pivotal scene that had undergone many changes to achieve a stronger impact. Director Chen was urgently looking for actors to discuss the scene, but Ye Chen was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Ye Chen?” the impatient old man grumbled.

Xiao Gao couldn’t reach Ye Chen’s phone, so he hurriedly turned around and said, “Chen Ge, maybe Ye Ge is still in makeup. Let me go find him.”

Director Chen’s eyes widened, his tone sour, “Does it take that long to do makeup?”

“Ye Chen…” Shen Mofeng smirked casually, “He’s running errands for me. I’ll ask him to come back.”

Director Chen’s gaze shifted sharply, now directed at Shen Mofeng. “Why are you making the kid run errands for you! Where’s your assistant?!”

“Right away, right away.” Shen Mofeng smiled and replied, walking towards Ye Chen’s makeup room.

Ye Chen wasn’t in the makeup room as expected. Shen Mofeng was about to search elsewhere when he suddenly heard Ye Chen’s deliberately lowered voice around the corner of the makeup room, as if he were arguing with someone.

Shen Mofeng hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but he stepped back a few paces out of courtesy. However, Ye Chen’s words, containing his name, pierced through his ears, compelling him to listen.

“…Back then, in order to pursue the footsteps of my Shen Ge, I stubbornly refused to inherit the family business, had a falling out with my family…”

“…I am chasing after Shen Mofeng. Shen Mofeng is my dream.”

Shen Mofeng stood still, his eyes trembling slightly.

Ye Chen’s voice was clear and full of youthful vigor, each word sincere and stubborn, hitting him right in the heart.

Poor Shen, the rarely seen king of abandoning principles to eavesdrop, was listening to a false confession…

As Shen Mofeng hesitated whether to make some noise to remind Ye Chen that someone was coming, the voice from Ye Chen’s side suddenly disappeared. After waiting silently for a moment, he circled around the corner and saw Ye Chen staring at his phone screen with a gloomy expression, sighing with longing and disappointment, his face full of unfulfilled desire.

…He could guess with his toes what Ye Chen was looking at.

“Ahem.” Shen Mofeng cleared his throat.

Ye Chen looked up, staring at him with a bewildered expression, “…”

“Director Chen is looking for you. The old man is getting impatient,” Shen Mofeng said, risking being amused by Ye Chen’s horrified expression, but his face remained composed. “Just tell him I asked you to run errands…,” Shen Mofeng suppressed a smile, “And don’t say you’re hiding here to make a phone call.”

Ye Chen’s lips moved for a moment, mechanically saying, “Did you… hear?”

“Accidentally,” Shen Mofeng scoffed lightly.

Ye Chen asked, “How much did you… hear?”

Shen Mofeng pondered for a moment, then said slowly, “From when you refused to inherit the family business.”

Ye Chen fell silent at his words.

I’m probably the one who’s been fooled by fake fans. Whether I listen early or late, I just happened to hear those few sentences… Ye Chen thought anxiously.

The two walked shoulder to shoulder towards the filming location, with Shen Mofeng remaining silent the whole way. He quietly thought about Ye Chen’s falling out with his family because of him, wanting to ask more questions but feeling it wasn’t appropriate to pry into Ye Chen’s family matters.

However, Ye Chen’s outdated windbreaker seemed even more conspicuous.

Shen Mofeng glanced at Ye Chen a few times without saying anything, ultimately choosing not to speak, afraid of hurting the kid’s pride.

…

After wrapping up the final scene shot in the city, the crew set off for the outdoor filming location in the evening.

The convoy of crew vehicles crawled along the mountain road, with the scenery on both sides becoming increasingly desolate. Ye Chen reclined his seat and closed his eyes to rest, with a hidden Hundun Cub nestled in his coat. Xiao Jumo slept soundly, occasionally emitting soft snores. Whenever it snored lightly, Ye Chen would gently poke the squishy little lump with his finger. The startled Hundun Cub would shudder and then immediately quiet down.

A few days ago, Hundun Cub had entered the infant stage from the newborn stage. Not only had its internal space expanded, but it had also gained the ability to transform into human form. Like other cubs, Hundun Cub’s infant form was quite cute, with short arms and legs, chubby hands resembling steamed buns, and a round, fair face… The only flaw was perhaps its overly fair complexion.

So fair that it lacked distinct facial features, truly too fair…

One night, while Ye Chen was half-awake, he saw a whiteboard child standing on the ground. He was so scared that he jumped onto the bed where the divine beast cubs were sleeping and grabbed a Xuanwu Cub using its hard tortoise shell as a shield.

“Gudun.” The whiteboard child tilted its head, and its chubby hands clenched into two small fists, seeming to exert effort. As it exerted itself, suddenly, with a soft “pop,” a mouth appeared on the whiteboard face, “Gege, I’m Dun Dun.”

Ye Chen, who had already guessed most of it, nervously swallowed, trying to negotiate kindly, “C-Can the facial features… be a bit more distinct?”

“Huh…” At this moment, Xuanwu Cub, who had been held in the air by Ye Chen as a shield, finally opened its eyes a crack, complaining laboriously, “Ge…ge… I’m… sleepy…”

“Can be distinct!” Hundun Cub clenched its fists again, its face turning red with effort. With a series of soft “pops,” eyes, nose, eyebrows, and ears all appeared on the whiteboard face of Hundun Cub.

Ye Chen curled up on the bed, holding up Xuanwu Baby, who had just fallen asleep, to strengthen his courage. He coughed lightly and politely reminded, “It seems like you still lack nostrils?”

Pop, the left and right nostrils are complete.

“I’m so tired… Gudun.” Hundun Cub’s fully featured state didn’t last for ten seconds before its mouth disappeared again.

“If you’re tired of having facial features… then don’t have them,” Ye Chen took a few deep breaths to calm himself, his voice as gentle as silk, “Gege, will just adapt. It’s okay.”

Hundun Cub struggled to bring its mouth back, considerately taking care of its brother’s aesthetics, “I’ll wait until I grow up a bit before transforming into a human again.” With that, it reverted to the appearance of a small orange fluff, flying onto Ye Chen’s shoulder and gently tapping his cheek with the tip of its wing as a comfort.

…

At ten o’clock in the evening, the crew convoy arrived at a small village near the filming location, a journey that took five hours one way. This small village was not under the jurisdiction of the capital city but belonged to a neighboring province. Due to its rugged terrain and underdeveloped transportation, as well as relatively barren land, the economic development of the villages in this area was quite backward. The living conditions were incomparable to the city, making it feel like another world altogether.

However, near this village, there was an area with extremely suitable terrain for filming 《Aspiration For The Throne》 The rock walls, carved by wind and frost, presented a twisted and crazy state, resembling the fossilized limbs of countless demonic creatures, which was intimidating to behold. This eerie landscape was perfectly in line with the ancient and eerie style of 《Aspiration For The Throne》

In the later stages of the film’s plot, the limbs of the demonic emperor had spread throughout the underground of the entire palace, causing panic among the palace residents. The two contaminated princes were also in constant danger. They fled the palace and came to the place where all the evil began, seeking a glimmer of hope.

The outdoor scenes of 《Aspiration For The Throne》 focused on unraveling mysteries. As the characters schemed against each other, they peeled back layers, following various clues to trace the dark secrets hidden deep within the roots of this dynasty. These included the dealings between the founding emperor and the demons, the polluted bloodline of the royal family, the reasons for the birth of the demonic forces, and the true purpose behind it all, as well as the method to completely eradicate it. These were the shooting contents for the next two months.

Although the scenery here was very distinctive, it was too hardcore and eerie. After watching it for a long time, one might lose their mental fortitude. Therefore, no one developed tourism here. It was also unnecessary for ordinary film and television dramas to come here for location shooting. Therefore, apart from a few scattered small shops selling local products to deceive the local villagers, there were no traces of commercial activities within a radius of a hundred miles, such as hotels, restaurants, or large supermarkets.

The production team had long since contacted about a dozen farmhouses. Over the next two months, all the crew members, from top-tier celebrities to supporting actors, would all be dispersed to live in these farmhouses, experiencing rural life in a down-to-earth manner.

Others might find it acceptable, but Xiao He couldn’t help but feel bitter when he thought of their young master Shen. 

In a sense, Shen Mofeng was also capable of enduring hardship. Whenever there was a need during filming, he never complained: enduring the freezing cold in the mud for hours on end was nothing to him; he never complained about the lack of sleep when the crew was rushing the schedule, nor did he boast or complain when he got bruised or injured during action scenes…

But once he returned from filming mode to regular life, Big Young Master Shen’s demands were unprecedented in Xiao He’s experience: when camping in the wilderness for filming, even the actresses were covered in dirt, yet Shen Mofeng could manage to hire someone specifically to carry water up the mountain for him to bathe; when staying in hotels, except for the floor and carpet, everything else near Shen Mofeng had to be replaced with his own items; no matter where he was, the rooms upstairs and next door were not allowed to be occupied by anyone else, as they had to be rented out entirely to prevent the noise of opening and closing doors and walking from disturbing his ascension…

The crew members got off the car one after another. Xiao He frowned and, together with Xiao Liu, carried boxes of things that Shen Mofeng needed into the farmhouse. Just the pillows alone, with different softness and materials, they brought four for Shen Mofeng. As for other miscellaneous items, needless to say, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about meals.

Xiao He looked dejectedly at the dried garlic hanging in front of the farmhouse door, estimated the dining standards of this place, and then assessed the degree of Shen Mofeng’s demands. He felt that by the time 《Aspiration For The Throne》 wrapped up, Shen Mofeng would probably turn into a starving beggar by the roadside, most likely resembling a little matchbox girl, clutching a packet of cigarettes in one hand and a lighter in the other, with a serene smile frozen on his face.

Xiao He was sighing heavily as he organized things in the largest room of the farmhouse when Ye Chen suddenly poked his head in and looked around. He asked, “Is Shen Ge not here?”

“No,” Xiao He put on a smile, “Does Chen Ge need something?”

Ye Chen lowered his gaze, his eyes sweeping over the various high-end men’s skincare products neatly arranged in boxes at Xiao He’s feet, envy choking his breath. Since he became broke, Ye Chen even cut a sheet mask in half and used one half at a time: applying the left half on his face for the first ten minutes, then flipping it horizontally to apply the right half for the next ten minutes. It was fortunate that he had good natural skin, so even with such minimal skincare, his skin was still in decent condition.

“…I wanted to ask,” Ye Chen collected his thoughts and spoke about business, “what does Shen Ge usually like to eat? Can you make a list for me?”

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s account book today:

Discovered a business opportunity for mooching skincare products!!!

—”Shen Mofeng is my dream.”

Shen Mofeng’s favorability +20.

Current favorability: 30/100, two stars.

Once it reaches five stars, it’s time for a mad(Feng) like wife chasing…