Chapter 8

In modern society, a mobile phone is almost like a second life for a surfer.

If the phone suddenly runs out of battery or loses signal, it can make someone feel so anxious and unsettled that they can’t do anything.

However, Su Xingyao completely solved the issue of internet signal for the entire crew. To everyone in the crew, this was equivalent to having their internet reborn, like having their internet-saving “parents.”

Soon, the news of this spread throughout the crew, and Su Xingyao’s status in the eyes of the crew members soared.

When they saw him, they all started calling him “Mr. Xiao Su” in a respectful and affectionate way, with their eyes full of admiration.

With this “big shot” aura, the crew members found that no matter how they looked at Su Xingyao, they felt more and more comfortable with him.

They gradually realized that apart from being a bit particular about his diet, Su Xingyao was humble, easygoing, and hardworking in his acting.

After all these days on set, none of the rumors about him that had been circulating outside seemed to hold any truth.

Those who had been in the industry for a long time knew that the entertainment world is full of rumors, and most of them are unreliable.

But compared to all the gossip, what they had seen and experienced firsthand was real.

As time went on, many people in the crew began to doubt the authenticity of the previous rumors.

Even when some staff members were sending WeChat messages to dig for gossip about Su Xingyao’s so-called “dark past,” they began to evaluate him from a more neutral perspective.

After two days of shooting in the mountains, the majority of the outdoor scenes were completed.

Yu Sisi and Ji Linghe’s outdoor scenes wrapped up first. They didn’t stay any longer and went back with a part of the crew to the film base to start shooting the “human world” scenes.

On the last day in the mountains, it suddenly started to rain heavily.

The temperature, which had been relatively mild, dropped to about ten degrees Celsius because of the rain.

The crew’s shooting schedule was halted by the rain.

“This damn weather changes every day.”

Not having brought warm clothes, Xiao Yu entered Su Xingyao’s room, rubbing her cold hands together to warm them up.

The deep mountain was high in altitude, with many trees, and the cold wind combined with the rain made the perceived temperature much lower than what the phone displayed.

Because it was raining and they couldn’t go outside, Su Xingyao stayed in his room and began drawing.

Since joining the crew, he hadn’t had much time to draw. Today, with no work to do, he picked up a pencil and started sketching the bamboo forest outside the window.

Xiao Yu’s arrival brought a gust of cold wind and interrupted his drawing.

Su Xingyao wasn’t angry about being interrupted. Instead, when he saw that Xiao Yu’s lips were turning pale from the cold, he tossed his windbreaker to her.

As Xiao Yu put on the jacket, he asked, “Do you need a heating pad?”

Xiao Yu looked at him in surprise, “You brought that?”

Su Xingyao nodded, “I brought a few.”

He then rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out ten heating pads.

Xiao Yu stared at his suitcase in shock.

She clearly remembered that Su Xingyao hadn’t brought much with him, but every time it seemed like he had a never-ending supply of things, like a treasure chest that could pull out whatever was needed.

Coincidentally, the screenwriter, who was passing by outside the room, overheard the conversation and stopped to ask for two heating pads.

The screenwriter then told Director Wang about it.

So, Director Wang, whose legs were numb from the cold, came by and asked for a few more.

On his way back, Director Wang ran into Jiang Zihang and casually asked him if he needed any.

Jiang Zihang happily accepted and stuck the heating pads on. But when he heard that the heating pads were from Su Xingyao, he suddenly felt a little disgusted.

After thanking Director Wang, Jiang Zihang turned around, rolled his eyes, pulled out his phone, and started texting Shen Huaixi while using the signal booster that Su Xingyao had brought.

Jiang Zihang: Ahh, I can’t take it anymore, I accidentally used Su Xingyao’s stuff

Jiang Zihang: Ugh, I feel dirty

In the afternoon, the weather cleared up, and it finally stopped raining.

The crew quickly set up the equipment and props, and by the time it got dark, Su Xingyao headed to the lakeside to film his last scene there.

In Falling Flowers and Glass, although the Demon Lord Bai Xu and the two immortals were sent back to the final life of the Three Lifetimes of Love Tribulation after time was reversed, the Immortal Sect had been severely weakened, causing the timelines of their return to be staggered.

The Demon Lord and Immortal Jinhua were the first to reincarnate. The Demon Lord reincarnated as the prince, Duan Huaijin, and Immortal Jinhua reincarnated as a general from an enemy kingdom, disguised as a companion to Duan Huaijin.

However, the protagonist, Immortal Liuli, only returned halfway through, taking over the body of Duan Huayu, who had some of his memories.

The original setup for Duan Huayu was that he had been pampered since childhood, the emperor’s most beloved prince.

On the other hand, Duan Huaijin, due to the tragic death of his mother when he was born, was considered an ill omen. His mother’s death caused the emperor to hate him deeply. From the moment of his birth, the emperor insisted that Duan Huaijin was a princess, intending to humiliate him intentionally.

Growing up in such an environment, Duan Huaijin was bullied by various people, leading to a twisted psyche and eventually awakening his demonic nature, determined to destroy the world.

Before the protagonist took over, Duan Huayu, the ninth prince, was one of the people who had bullied Duan Huaijin.

The scene to be filmed tonight was one where the ninth prince, after losing a sword duel to the “princess” (the protagonist disguised as a companion), returns home furious. He lies about his jade pendant being “lost” by the “princess” and intentionally makes the protagonist search for it by the river in the middle of the night.

After finishing his makeup, Su Xingyao arrived at the lakeside.

Xiao Yu held a jacket in her hand and couldn’t help but feel a little anxious as she looked at the tranquil lake.

Tonight’s temperature was even lower than during the day, and not only did Su Xingyao need to go into the water for the scene, but he also had to act opposite Jiang Zihang, who was notorious for his endless ^[1]“NG” stands for “No Good”. It is a term commonly used in film and television production to indicate that a particular take or scene did not meet the required standards and … Continue readingNG takes…

Just thinking about Jiang Zihang made Xiao Yu feel a sense of suffocation.

She could already tell with her toes that tonight’s shoot would definitely go on until after midnight.

Su Xingyao had naturally anticipated this as well.

So, when the scene was confirmed, he proactively told the director that he had injuries on his thighs and abdomen, and it might not be suitable for him to film a water scene.

But the director assured him that this scene was very important and it would be best not to use a stand-in.

The director then repeatedly reassured him, saying the water wouldn’t be deep, and it would only reach his knees, so it wouldn’t affect his injuries.

Since the director insisted, Su Xingyao felt it would be inappropriate to refuse.

Soon, he and Jiang Zihang boarded the prop boat prepared by the crew. Once everything was set, they began filming the scene for the night.

Tonight, Jiang Zihang’s performance was unusually good, unlike his typical behavior.

The first take went smoothly without any NGs, and after a few simple takes, it was done.

Seeing his performance, the crew members were somewhat relieved, thinking that he was pulling through at the crucial moment, and everyone was glad they wouldn’t have to stay up late with him tonight.

However, before they could finish their praise, an unexpected incident occurred.

Dressed in his splendid robes, Jiang Zihang walked over to Su Xingyao, who was standing at the bow of the boat, enjoying the cold breeze. He arrogantly tilted his head back, his eyes mischievously flicking.

“No, Your Highness, this jade pendant was a gift from my father, worth a fortune. Tonight, you must help me find it,” he said, extending his hand toward Su Xingyao’s back.

According to the director’s instructions, he only needed to make a gesture and film a simple shot.

But Jiang Zihang seemed to be full of energy, as if he had taken some stimulant. His arm was charged with strength, and he pushed hard against Su Xingyao’s back.

Su Xingyao immediately felt a tremendous force against his back.

Standing at the edge of the boat, he was shoved into the river in an instant.

The surprise was so sudden that everyone stood frozen in place, stunned.

It wasn’t until Su Xingyao stood up that everyone finally realized what had just happened.

The water in the river wasn’t very deep, but it was enough to completely soak Su Xingyao.

Looking at his drenched clothes, Su Xingyao was glad that he had prepared in advance, covering his injuries with medical cling film for protection.

Otherwise, the bruises from the scratches he got when he fell down the cliff would surely get infected by the dirty river water.

Su Xingyao’s sudden fall into the water made the whole crew tense up.

Everyone rushed to bring him towels to dry off, and Xiao Yu quickly brought a hairdryer to help dry his clothes, worried he might catch a cold.

Due to Jiang Zihang’s mistake, everyone ended up with extra work.

Meanwhile, the person responsible for the incident walked up to Su Xingyao, blinking innocently, as if he knew nothing.

“Ah… was that my fault just now? Sorry, I got a bit too into character and didn’t control my strength.”

Xiao Yu was infuriated by Jiang Zihang’s smug tone.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and angrily said to him, “Even if you’re getting into character, you still need to be careful.”

Jiang Zihang glanced at Su Xingyao, who looked miserable, and grinned, nodding cheerfully before continuing, “Oh, sorry about that, I didn’t do it on purpose…”

Jiang Zihang’s assistant quickly jumped in, apologizing while trying to cover for his artist.

“It’s acting, right? Sometimes you get too into character, and it just happens. You know, that one actor who won Best Actress even slapped someone for real during a scene? It’s all about immersing yourself in the role, really wasn’t intentional…”

Xiao Yu squeezed the hairdryer in her hand so tightly that it made a clicking sound.

She felt like if she heard one more word from these two idiots, she might not be able to hold herself back from hitting them.

But Xiao Yu didn’t have time to deal with them. She was more worried about Su Xingyao catching a cold, so she kept drying his clothes.

Looking at his drenched clothes, she suddenly remembered the hand warmers Su Xingyao had brought.

It would be great if she could put one on him right now.

Unfortunately, everyone had already used them up earlier in the day.

Soon, Su Xingyao’s clothes were mostly dry, and after the stylist fixed his look, the shoot continued.

Before this take, Director Wang had specifically pulled Jiang Zihang aside to tell him to be more careful during filming.

It seemed that this warning had worked. Jiang Zihang behaved much more appropriately this time.

He didn’t push Su Xingyao again, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to mess up the scenes.

He forgot his lines, stumbled through his emotions, laughed inappropriately… Jiang Zihang managed to find all sorts of ridiculous reasons to NG seven or eight times.

Because of his mistakes, Su Xingyao had to stand in the water for hours.

In the scene, Jiang Zihang’s costume was a luxurious brocade robe, thick and with a fur collar, so he wasn’t cold at all, even wearing multiple layers.

But Su Xingyao’s character had a tough life—he was wearing a thin, single layer, and it had already been soaked earlier. Now it was just damp and clinging to him.

The cold night wind blew on him as he stood in the river, and Su Xingyao could feel his skin growing colder and colder.

Before he knew it, the scene had dragged on until ten o’clock in the evening.

While switching to different camera angles to film the previous shots, Jiang Zihang once again pushed Su Xingyao into the water, this time claiming it was because he “didn’t control his strength.”

Su Xingyao, his face cold, warned him directly.

“Stop with the little tricks. If you deliberately mess up again, don’t blame me for being rude.”

The pale skin had a sickly beauty under the moonlight.

When Su Xingyao spoke with a cold expression, his appearance was strikingly similar to the sickly beauty of the young Demon Lord from his past.

He knew that Jiang Zihang liked to play these childish little tricks to bully him.

It was the same as his good friend, Shen Huaixi, who used to create misunderstandings to make people bully him.

In the past, he always thought that such behavior was childish and didn’t want to give it much attention.

So, he usually tried to avoid interacting with them as much as possible.

However, now he realized he had been wrong.

Because of his indifference and cold treatment, the other person actually thought he was easy to bully, and so they became even more arrogant.

Su Xingyao gave him a cold glance, and after throwing that remark, he stood up and walked back to the shore.

It was the first time Jiang Zihang had seen Su Xingyao speak to him with such a cold expression.

For a moment, he was indeed a little scared.

But soon, once he calmed down, he thought to himself that Su Xingyao wasn’t as popular as he was, and he didn’t have as many fans—why should he be afraid of him?

With that thought, Jiang Zihang didn’t take Su Xingyao’s words seriously.

So, when they resumed filming, he purposely repeated his earlier move.

But this time, as he pushed forward, he noticed that Su Xingyao, who had been standing still with his back to him, suddenly took a step to the side.

Jiang Zihang used a lot of force but ended up missing.

The next second, his balance faltered, and he fell into the water in a comical, face-first position.

The splash he caused shot several meters high.

Completely unaware of the situation, Jiang Zihang struggled in the water, panicking, unable to get back up.

After swallowing several mouthfuls of dirty water, he was finally pulled out by his agent, who had arrived late.

The dirty river water flooded his stomach, and Jiang Zihang had drunken his fill all at once.

After coughing up the water, the thought of how filthy it was made him gag repeatedly.

At this moment, Jiang Zihang no longer had the previous air of nobility. He looked as pitiful as a drowned rat, with tears and snot all mixed together, his image completely ruined.

Seeing Jiang Zihang in such a miserable state, his manager was filled with sympathy and immediately pointed at Su Xingyao’s face, questioning him, “What are you doing? Trying to kill him on purpose?”

Facing the manager’s accusation, Su Xingyao, standing gracefully at the bow of the boat, appeared completely unfazed.

He gently wiped the splashed water from his face with his sleeve and then slowly glanced at Jiang Zihang.

Under the moonlight, he faintly curled his lips, saying, “You should be asking him that.”

The manager was taken aback, he hadn’t expected Su Xingyao to so directly expose the underlying tension between the two.

Knowing he was in the wrong, the manager still couldn’t swallow his frustration.

He was about to retort when he was suddenly interrupted by Shen Huaixi, who had just appeared.

Shen Huaixi hadn’t expected that, after visiting the set late at night with Qin Mingchuan to check on Jiang Zihang, they would stumble upon such a dramatic scene.

After watching the whole commotion, he exchanged a meaningful glance with Qin Mingchuan before walking toward Jiang Zihang.

Su Xingyao also noticed Shen Huaixi.

But at this moment, he felt a burning itch on his skin and his head felt a bit dizzy.

He only gave a brief glance in Shen Huaixi’s direction before heading towards his resting area.

Qin Mingchuan, who hadn’t seen Su Xingyao in a long time, stood there for a moment, his gaze fixed on Su Xingyao.

At this moment, a beam of light shone directly on Su Xingyao’s face.

It was only then that Qin Mingchuan noticed that Su Xingyao’s complexion was as pale as a sheet of paper.

Seeing that something was wrong with Su Xingyao, Qin Mingchuan quickly took a few steps towards him and reached out to help him.

However, just as his hand touched the sleeve of Su Xingyao’s costume, Su Xingyao subtly avoided his touch.

Ignoring the disappointment in Qin Mingchuan’s eyes, Su Xingyao took the phone that Xiao Yu handed to him.

“Susu, it’s Aunt Zhang calling.”

Su Xingyao found it strange that Aunt Zhang was calling so late, but worried there might be something urgent, he immediately answered the call.

“Aunt Zhang.”

As soon as he spoke, he felt everything go dark in front of him.

Then, his body went limp, and he collapsed, losing consciousness.