Chapter 29: The Movie King and the Husky 12

Before coming to the set, Tang Bin had no idea what “visiting the set” meant.

But after two days of hesitation, he did some homework and learned that “visiting the set” simply means going to see someone on location. Now that he was Lin Moning’s financial backer, it was only natural for him to visit the set as a legitimate and proud gesture…

Uh, Tang Bin was once again grateful for the courage he mustered in the restroom last time, when he boldly told Lin Moning that he wanted to support him.

Before leaving, Yuan Ming heard that Tang Bin was going to visit the set and insisted on tagging along.

Yuan Ming said that although Young Master Rui didn’t care much for Zheng Zhe, he was still considered part of the circle with these small celebrities. Moreover, as Young Master Rui’s close friend, Yuan Ming had been feeling anxious lately because Rui hadn’t been spending much time with him.

He was so eager that he wanted to follow Tang Bin wherever he went.

Tang Bin had no choice but to let him come along.

Compared to their first meeting, Yuan Ming now looked much more normal.

The tattoos he had before had been removed—Tang Bin was hearing for the first time that tattoos could be removed.

Yuan Ming’s once spiky hair had also been shaved clean, leaving only a layer of short stubble on his head. He looked a little fierce, but it was much better than before.

The film studio was quite far from B City, requiring a drive on the expressway, and Tang Bin was glad to have a driver in the form of Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming’s birthday had just passed yesterday, and he had finally received permission from his father to hit the road, but now he wasn’t quite sure how to show off.

“Hey, by the way, didn’t you say you got a dog recently? How’s your dog doing?”

“You mean Haha?” Tang Bin’s mood darkened as soon as the topic was mentioned.

Haha’s injury had healed, but recently, for some reason, it seemed sluggish and excessively sleepy.

He thought the dog might be ill and deliberately avoided the clinic that had recommended neutering. Instead, he took Haha to another veterinary hospital.

However, after visiting two different hospitals, the vets said that Haha was physically fine. They couldn’t explain why the puppy was so sleepy, attributing it to the exhaustion from its previous injury.

“Maybe it’s just lazy…” Yuan Ming, after hearing Tang Bin’s description, concluded.

Tang Bin: “…”

Fortunately, Haha wasn’t here, or it might’ve been furious if it heard that.

The two of them chatted casually as they drove for hours, finally arriving at the film studio where Lin Moning was filming.

This place wasn’t familiar to Tang Bin, and even the original owner had never been here before.

However, he didn’t feel out of place upon arriving. As soon as the car entered the studio, before Tang Bin and Yuan Ming could even get out of the car, someone from the crew had already recognized them and came running to greet them.

After all, as the young master of Huayu Entertainment, Tang Bin’s face was easily recognizable wherever he went.

Furthermore, before he arrived, Lin Moning’s manager had already informed the crew, so everyone was prepared.

“Ah, Young Master Rui, what brings you both here?” a staff member asked knowingly.

Of course, Tang Bin didn’t need to say anything. Yuan Ming spoke up: “Young Master Rui is here to visit the set today. Uh, is Lin Moning here?”

“Ah, yes, he is.” The staff member, who had only heard that Tang Bin was coming, now realized the purpose of his visit and immediately smiled. “Lin Moning has two scenes today and is filming right now. Why don’t you wait over there for a bit, Young Master Rui? I’ll let him know once he’s finished.”

“No need.” Tang Bin replied, “He’s filming right now? Then let’s go see him.”

“Oh, that works too,” the staff member said.

The film studio wasn’t a place where just anyone could enter, especially during filming. The crew usually kept outsiders away. However, Tang Bin was clearly not considered an outsider.

Without any objection, the staff member led Tang Bin and his group inside. Just as they were about to enter, Tang Bin suddenly remembered something and said, “Wait a minute.”

“What’s wrong, Young Master Rui?”

Tang Bin asked the staff about the approximate number of people present today, then called over the bodyguard who was following closely behind him. He instructed him to go to a nearby milk tea shop to order drinks, saying he wanted to treat everyone to milk tea.

“Thank you, Young Master Rui!” The staff member, a young lady, was delighted as soon as she heard that Young Master Rui was treating them to milk tea.

Tang Bin added, “Also, order dinner for everyone while you’re at it.”

“Got it, Young Master.”

“Ah! Did you hear that! Young Master Rui’s treating us to extra meals!”

Several of the staff gathered around Tang Bin, chattering excitedly.

Filming was tough and monotonous, and the crew definitely appreciated someone like Young Master Rui, who not only treated everyone to milk tea but also provided extra meals!

Oh, right! Young Master Rui was here to see Lin Moning!

This showed just how much Young Master Rui spoiled Lin Moning! He was really boosting Lin Moning’s popularity with the crew!

And so, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tang Bin walked into the set.

He wasn’t really thinking about supporting Lin Moning or anything like that, and he didn’t even realize that people might think that way. He’d just heard that when you visit a set, it’s customary to bring treats for the crew, like milk tea or extra meals—after all, you can’t show up empty-handed.

So, Tang Bin thought for a moment and decided it would be best to go all out with milk tea and extra meals.

After all, he had the money.

Plenty of money. The kind of money that couldn’t be spent all at once.

Lin Moning was filming a historical drama, and today’s scene was an action sequence in a courtyard that exuded an ancient atmosphere.

As soon as Tang Bin entered, he saw the image of a young man in white, standing tall on a platform with a sword in hand.

Lin Moning, dressed in simple robes and a long tunic, with his hair styled jet-black like ink, and wearing light makeup, looked more delicate than usual. Yet, his gaze remained sharp and fierce, filled with a killing intent.

But since they were filming an action scene, with knives and sticks flying around, where life and death were decided in an instant, this expression of his seemed entirely fitting.

No one in the scene noticed Tang Bin and his group’s arrival. The filming was still going on in full swing.

With the director’s call to start, Lin Moning, who was hanging on the wire, moved.

He skillfully swung his sword, effortlessly engaging in a staged combat scene with several actors. The young man in white under the sunlight was handsome and dashing, with an elegant yet fierce demeanor. He was not only strikingly good-looking, but Tang Bin couldn’t find any other word to describe him.

He was completely mesmerized.

“Impressive, right?” the staff girl beside him said excitedly. “Lin Moning is so handsome!”

Tang Bin: “…”

By all accounts, someone like Lin Moning—who had just debuted and didn’t have any exposure or fan base—landing a supporting male role was clearly someone who had used connections to get ahead.

And typically, those who used connections were not welcomed by the crew before they gained any recognition.

—Just think about it. He probably just latched onto some second-generation rich guy. Today he’s favored, but tomorrow, he might fall out of favor. No one would really care about him.

However, Lin Moning became an exception after he joined the crew.

His acting skills were impressive, even more refined than the actor playing the male lead. The main reason was that Lin Moning was willing to work hard.

While others used stunt doubles or relied on camera tricks for action scenes, Lin Moning refused to do that.

He performed every fight scene himself, aiming to execute the entire sequence in one smooth motion without any cuts.

This required a certain level of martial arts skill, which Lin Moning didn’t initially have.

But his hard work made up for it.

While others were resting, he practiced. While others were eating or sleeping, he was still practicing.

Whenever he had the chance, he’d pester the martial arts coach, and as a result, not only did he improve rapidly in combat scenes, but his performance in regular scenes never faltered either. No matter how tired he was, there were very few instances where he performed poorly.

“Filming is already exhausting, and he still has to practice his moves at night. He’s really like an iron man,” the staff girl commented, feeling a bit moved.

At first, when she saw Lin Moning, she thought he was just another young star who had been sponsored to join the crew.

But Lin Moning proved with his perseverance and talent that he wasn’t the kind of person they had assumed.

His sincerity won over even the more seasoned crew members, and some of them even turned into his fans.

“Of course, his looks are a big part of it too. Lin Moning really deserves it.” The staff girl gazed at Lin Moning with adoration and then cast a flirtatious glance at Tang Bin.

Tang Bin blinked in confusion: ?

Once the scene ended, the director hurriedly came over to greet Tang Bin.

Directors of TV dramas usually didn’t have much of a reputation. This one was just a small director. Although Huayu Entertainment wasn’t a big name in the entertainment industry, the Luo family was! A young master like Luo Rui was someone no one dared to neglect or offend, especially not their crew.

With the director coming over, the producer naturally followed suit.

In an instant, Tang Bin was surrounded by the key figures of the crew, and he became the center of attention, the hot topic of the day.

Tang Bin felt a little uncomfortable.

He wasn’t good at handling situations like this.

Fortunately, he had brought Yuan Ming along. Young Master Yuan was much better at navigating social situations than he was.

Tang Bin let out a small sigh of relief, scanning his surroundings. Not far away, he saw the young man in white standing under the eaves of a corridor, leaning against a vermilion-colored pillar, looking in his direction.

Almost as soon as Tang Bin saw Lin Moning, their eyes met in the air.

It was as if some unseen force had given him courage. Tang Bin clenched his fist and said quietly, “Uh… I’ll go over there for a bit, you all continue talking.”

With that, he parted the crowd and walked toward the direction where the young man in white was standing.

As soon as he spoke, everyone naturally noticed where Young Master Rui’s gaze was fixed.

Everyone froze for a moment. Even the director, feeling exasperated, thought to himself, This Lin Moning, seriously. He knows that Young Master Rui is here to see him, but he doesn’t even come over on his own! He’s just waiting for Young Master Rui to walk over to him!

He thought this to himself but, on the outside, said in a polite tone, “Ah, yes, yes, Young Master Rui, please go ahead, take your time.”

Then he picked up a loudspeaker and called out, “Actors, take a break. Everyone else, hurry up and prepare for the next scene!”

The next scene was also Lin Moning’s.

Scenes were all prearranged, so even though Young Master Rui had arrived, no last-minute changes could be made.

Tang Bin also indicated that there was no need to make any adjustments because of his presence. He walked over to Lin Moning, exchanged a few words, but there was nothing substantial in the conversation—just “You’re here,” “Yeah, I’m here,” and similar exchanges.

It was strange. Although Tang Bin was usually shy, he could remain calm in front of most people. But when it came to Lin Moning, he always felt nervous and didn’t know where to put his hands and feet.

In the past, he thought it was because Lin Moning had such a fierce gaze.

But today, Lin Moning seemed to be in a pretty good mood? At least, when he looked at Tang Bin, there was no trace of the usual hostility. His eyes weren’t fierce, and his expression was even somewhat friendly.

But Tang Bin still felt nervous.

He was so nervous that he didn’t know where to put his hands and feet.

“What time are you done filming tonight? Let’s go have dinner?” Tang Bin asked carefully.

“The next scene is my last for today. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be free the whole evening,” Lin Moning replied.

“Ah, okay,” Tang Bin said, his voice a little shaky.

In the sunlight, he still thought Lin Moning looked quite handsome.

Tang Bin lowered his head slightly, his ears turning a little red. “Then I’ll wait for you here, and then we…”

“I need to go film now,” Lin Moning interrupted.

“Oh, go ahead,” Tang Bin sighed in relief.

After Lin Moning left, Yuan Ming, looking completely stunned, moved closer to Tang Bin and stared at Lin Moning’s back as if he were seeing a monster.

—Why did he feel like his brother Rui, who used to be as noble and proud as a leopard, suddenly turned into a little kitten in front of this small celebrity?

It must be an illusion, just an illusion.

Luo Rui had never liked anyone as long as he had lived.

As his childhood friend and close confidant, Yuan Ming felt that no one understood Luo Rui better than he did.

Yuan Ming comforted himself with this thought.

“Brother Rui, are you okay? What’s going on? You’re not actually interested in that little celebrity, are you?” Yuan Ming asked, feeling uneasy.

“No.” Tang Bin shook his head, still not understanding what was going on with him, feeling a little absent-minded. He simply asked Yuan Ming, “Do you think Lin Moning is particularly fierce? Like… kind of scary…”

“Is he? …Brother Rui, do you mean ‘cute fierce’?” Yuan Ming was even more confused. Lin Moning was just a young, good-looking celebrity, wasn’t he? Yuan Ming didn’t find anything scary about him.

“Isn’t he?” Tang Bin muttered to himself, eventually concluding that it must just be his own nerves and decided not to think about it anymore.

Watching people film was actually pretty boring, especially when a scene got stuck and had to be done over and over again.

Tang Bin thought it was fine, but Yuan Ming couldn’t take it anymore. He squatted nearby drinking milk tea, almost ready to vomit from the boredom. He really couldn’t stay any longer and pulled Tang Bin, saying he wanted to go explore other parts of the film set.

Tang Bin didn’t want to move. “If you’re tired of waiting, you can go back first.”

“Really?” Yuan Ming jumped up, “…But won’t that make me look like a bad buddy?”

“No, not at all,” Tang Bin shook his head honestly.

Though he still didn’t know how to face Lin Moning alone, he hadn’t intended for Yuan Ming to stay with him.

“Alright, I’m really leaving now!” Yuan Ming said, stepping away.

He had figured it out. Luo Rui, just because of a small celebrity filming a scene, suddenly got all artistic and romantic and didn’t care about wasting the day.

But he, Yuan Ming, was different. He wasn’t suited for art or romance.

Besides, if he stayed here waiting, in the end, the two would just go off to dinner or a date, and Yuan Ming would end up being the third wheel.

Why bother with that?

“Go ahead, take care on your way back,” Tang Bin said, showing his loyalty as he sent Yuan Ming out of the film set, saw him get in the car, and waved him off with a cool gesture.

Tang Bin also waved at his retreating back.

“Ah Rui?” Yuan Ming’s car had already driven off when a male voice suddenly called from behind, full of surprise and complicated emotions. Tang Bin turned around to see the young Master Zong, who had approached him twice earlier, now standing in front of him.

“What a coincidence, Ah Rui, what are you doing here?”

In his daze, Zong Yuanyi had already walked up to him.

“…I’m here to visit the set,” Tang Bin answered honestly.

“Visit the set? Whose set are you visiting?” Zong Yuanyi’s expression was ambiguous, half-jokingly saying, “Ah Rui has been saying he’s busy lately, so it turns out this is what you’ve been busy with…”