Chapter 31: The Movie King and the Husky 14

Although it felt somewhat familiar, Lin Moning suddenly rubbing against him so intimately really surprised Tang Bin. But after thinking about it… perhaps the drunk Lin Moning mistook him for someone else, and wasn’t actually rubbing against him on purpose.

With that thought, the strange feeling from earlier faded away.

Now, the problem Tang Bin was facing was that the male lead had fallen asleep holding him… What was he supposed to do now?!

Tang Bin tried to struggle, but Lin Moning had his limbs pressed against him, holding him tightly in a way that made it seem like he was wrapped around him in a firm embrace. Lin Moning’s body felt as rigid as steel bars, and Tang Bin couldn’t break free.

And up close, Lin Moning’s face was really good-looking.

…Not just good-looking.

In his time in the entertainment industry, Tang Bin had seen many beautiful people, but none of them had given him such a naturally comfortable feeling as Lin Moning did.

This feeling wasn’t obvious on ordinary days.

Because Lin Moning’s gaze was too fierce.

But once he closed his eyes and curled up like a little beast, holding him tightly to sleep, the feeling became incredibly clear.

Tang Bin was a little dazed.

He wasn’t a ^[1]“face person” refers to someone who places a lot of importance on physical appearance, especially someone’s facial attractiveness, when forming opinions or feelings about them.“face person,” and he couldn’t quite explain where this extra-comforting feeling came from.

But he just couldn’t look away.

Lin Moning didn’t just give him the impression of being good-looking, he also gave Tang Bin a sense of peace.

So much so that, before he realized it, Tang Bin had fallen asleep too.

He didn’t even know when he had fallen asleep.

And he didn’t know that in the middle of the night, the drunk person woke up from his dreams, his deep eyes glowing with a beast-like intensity, staring at him for a long time, lost in thought.

The next morning, as the first light of dawn broke, Tang Bin opened his eyes.

He instinctively tried to move, but his limbs felt numb, weak, and unable to move.

—Lin Moning was still tangled up with him, his head buried deeply between his shoulder and neck, holding him tightly.

Lin Moning’s dark, semi-long hair half-covered Tang Bin’s cheek, brushing against his nose. As Tang Bin had just tried to move, it made him feel a little ticklish.

“Ah-choo!” Tang Bin sneezed.

The sound was pretty loud.

This made Lin Moning, who had been half-lying on top of him, frown slightly, his long eyelashes fluttering, and then his eyes slowly opened.

—A pair of eyes, dark and intense, with deep pupils, were staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

The pressure from Lin Moning’s usual intimidating presence returned with this close-up eye contact.

Tang Bin felt nervous, for no particular reason.

The two of them locked eyes. Tang Bin blinked once, then blinked again. “Uh…”

Lin Moning didn’t speak. Tang Bin hesitated, not sure of what to say, feeling that the situation was a little strange.

At this moment, the distance between them was so close that their breaths could easily touch each other’s faces. Because of this, Tang Bin could clearly see that the affection level above Lin Moning’s head had risen to 50.

Previously, because he was always nervous around Lin Moning, Tang Bin often forgot to check the affection level.

He mainly didn’t think there would be any progress.

But now, looking at it suddenly… when did the affection level go up to 50?!

Tang Bin was greatly shocked.

So shocked, in fact, that his eyes widened. His originally narrow, beautiful eyes were now open so wide that they didn’t look like his usual unpredictable self, making Lin Moning furrow his brows and immediately get up from Tang Bin.

And thus, Tang Bin witnessed a strange sight… he saw the affection level drop from 50 to 49.

Tang Bin: ?!!

How could the affection level drop just like that? What did he do wrong?

A sense of helplessness and grievance flooded his heart.

Because of the grievance, his widened eyes turned red in an instant.

Lin Moning’s gaze grew even deeper.

After getting up from Tang Bin, he sat on the bed, tugged at his collar, and finally spoke: “Yesterday… I drank too much, I’m sorry.”

Tang Bin: “Oh.”

Accepting Lin Moning’s apology, Tang Bin tried to lift his numb limbs and get out of bed.

Ignoring the sudden drop in affection, Lin Moning’s attitude seemed quite normal now—much warmer than before, which was a small improvement.

Tang Bin calculated this in his mind and, as usual, gave himself a little boost for the morning.

However, before he had fully gotten up, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The sound was loud and clear, echoing through the small room, and it made Tang Bin’s heart race in a flurry.

—The sky had just started to lighten. Who would come knocking so early?

“Xiao Lin? Moning? Are you up?”

The loud knocking outside was accompanied by more voices—definitely not just one person.

Soon, another voice came through, clearly audible despite the thin door:

“It’s five o’clock in the morning now. Let’s see what Lin Moning is up to. Has he gotten up yet?”

“He should be up by now. He has a shoot this morning. Three hours of prep time, so he should be getting up now…” another voice replied.

Tang Bin, still groggy from sleep, tried to get out of bed, his messy hair sticking out in all directions. He was somewhat confused.

However, alongside the voices outside, the electronic sound of the door unlocking came through, and the door was pushed open. A few people appeared in the doorway, including a cameraman with a camera on his back.

“…”

As mentioned before, Lin Moning’s room wasn’t very big.

At least, once the door opened, everything except the bathroom could be easily seen.

So, the image of Tang Bin sleepily rolling off the one large bed was easily captured by the cameraman.

—

The situation happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that even the host-like person who had been speaking earlier was caught off guard.

Everyone went silent for a moment, and finally, someone called out, “Rui… Young Master Rui?!”

It was one of the staff members from the film crew who had greeted Tang Bin yesterday.

At this moment, she had a look of shock mixed with uncontrollable excitement as she stared at Tang Bin and Lin Moning, who was standing still beside him. She was already mentally constructing a scandalous scenario in her head, likely to span thousands of words.

“Don’t misunderstand.” Lin Moning, who had been silent, spoke up. His voice was calm as he said, “Young Master Rui just stayed at my place for the night.”

Tang Bin still hadn’t figured out what was going on, but Lin Moning’s explanation wasn’t too far from the truth, so he followed along and said, “Yeah, that’s right. I brought Lin Moning back last night, and then… stayed here for the night.”

It was better when he said nothing, but now his explanation seemed more suspicious.

“Oh.” The crowd nodded in understanding, though it was clear they didn’t believe him.

“Are we still recording this segment?” the assistant, who was helping out as a supporting crew member, whispered to someone nearby.

The purpose of their early morning visit was to film behind-the-scenes footage for each star. Some of it was shot on set, while others were more real-life moments.

Normally, these surprise filming sessions would be notified to the actors a day in advance so they could prepare.

But because the male lead, scheduled for a surprise shoot this morning, had failed multiple takes yesterday and stayed up too late filming, he couldn’t get up in time. So, they had chosen to come to Lin Moning’s place instead, and the staff had informed Lin Moning via text last night.

He couldn’t have… completely missed the message, right?

Everyone suddenly felt a little awkward.

With Young Master Rui appearing here, this segment clearly couldn’t be aired. They would have to redo it.

Tang Bin felt really embarrassed for disrupting their work. Lin Moning, too, sincerely apologized to each of the staff members, even though the message he received last night was sent almost at midnight. Anyone who had to film early the next morning would already have been asleep, so the sudden intrusion wasn’t really planned with him in mind.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” the staff members clearly didn’t dare show any dissatisfaction in front of Tang Bin. On the contrary, they respectfully asked him to leave the room for now and wait outside until the filming was finished, after which he could return to Lin Moning’s room.

Tang Bin knew that new actors didn’t have much say in such matters. He glanced at Lin Moning, who seemed completely unfazed, and chose not to speak.

But if he hadn’t been here today, Lin Moning would probably have been caught off guard by the crew’s surprise visit and a flurry of camera shots. He might have been startled or even annoyed by the sudden filming, but he would have had to endure it.

Thinking about it, being an actor was truly a tough job.

While Tang Bin was lost in thought, the crew began filming again. Since Lin Moning was already awake, he naturally didn’t want to be filmed sleeping, so he walked into the bathroom and pretended to be taking a shower.

Even though it was just pretending, he did a pretty good job.

When the crew “burst in,” Lin Moning gave an exaggerated startled expression as he emerged from the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel. His jet-black hair was completely wet, water droplets falling from it and trickling down his beautifully sculpted shoulders and the faint outline of his eight-pack abs.

Lin Moning was acting in a historical drama, so he usually wore heavy costumes and rarely had scenes where he exposed his body.

However, this surprise shoot gave him the chance to showcase his lean, yet surprisingly muscular physique.

Not only did the staff members gasp in admiration, but even Tang Bin, who had been curiously peeking beside the cameraman, was left stunned.

Lin Moning feigned ignorance, acting startled, and displayed a playful energy completely different from his usual serious demeanor.

“You scared me. You all came so early… Huh? Why is there a camera here?”

His expression seemed to shift immediately, as if he understood what was going on, and suddenly he became shy, turning his body slightly.

The host, following the cue, said, “Moning, why are you up so early? What time are you filming today?”

“My first scene is at nine in the morning.”

The host, playing along, responded, “Wow, you’re filming at 9, but you woke up at 5?”

Lin Moning suddenly looked up, his gaze going over the host to the direction where the cameraman was standing.

But it was clear he wasn’t looking directly at the camera. He cracked a smile, showing his charming side, and teasingly said, “I couldn’t sleep.”

Everyone: “…”

Tang Bin: “…”

In the end, even though the final version of the surprise footage made sure not to capture even a corner of Tang Bin’s clothes, the fact that he had slept in Lin Moning’s room became common knowledge throughout the entire crew, and perhaps even the whole film set.

After all… even if it was too late and he had to stay here, there were many high-end hotels in the film set area.

Even if he had to stay at the crew’s designated hotel, there would still be available rooms.

And Lin Moning’s room was nothing more than an ordinary, modest big bed room.

Was Young Master Rui out of his mind, insisting on squeezing into a bed with an artist to spend the night?

Although, whether it was just staying over or something else… everyone knew.

At the same time, Lin Moning, with his looks and skills, was a true schemer. He had successfully latched onto Young Master Rui’s leg, and the fact that he had climbed into the bed of the top influencer in the industry became a secret in the circle.

If Young Master Rui’s visit to the set the day before hadn’t made the crew realize how important Lin Moning had become, the fact that Young Master Rui had spent the night with him at the set made it abundantly clear what Lin Moning’s status was.

From then on, no one dared to look down on him like they had before.

The story spread like wildfire, and soon, even Yuan Ming had heard about it. He told Tang Bin over the phone, “Congratulations to Young Master Rui. Last night was a memorable night, he finally lost his virginity.”

At this moment, Tang Bin, who was sunbathing in his own yard, was completely stunned: ???

“This visit wasn’t wasted. How was it? I heard that the little celebrity has a great figure?”

Tang Bin hadn’t quite followed the topic and could only interpret it based on the surface meaning.

He thought back to the sight of Lin Moning’s upper body earlier in the morning… it was indeed quite impressive. So he confirmed the answer:

“Impressive, Lin Moning has a great figure.”

Yuan Ming: “…”

There was a brief pause on the other end, and Yuan Ming didn’t speak for a long time.

Tang Bin held his phone, worriedly reaching out with his other hand to gently touch Haha’s little ear, which was deeply asleep.

Haha was still very sleepy. After Tang Bin had hurriedly come home to bring him out to the yard to play, Haha didn’t even run for two steps before curling up near the bushes to sleep.

One would think that with how much this dog ate and slept, he should be gaining weight, especially since he didn’t really exercise much.

But Haha hadn’t. He was still a lean dog, and no one knew where all the good food went.

Feeling a bit worried, Tang Bin inadvertently said his thoughts aloud.

Yuan Ming’s voice, sounding somewhat distracted, replied: “…Maybe he’s growing. I was like that when I was growing taller.”

The two of them chatted aimlessly for a while before Yuan Ming said he had to go and hung up the phone.

Tang Bin hadn’t slept well the night before, and seeing Haha sleeping so soundly and ignoring him, he decided to just lie down in a chair and take an afternoon nap as well.

When he took a nap, he always let one of his arms hang down, so that his fingers could just touch Haha’s fur. It felt warm and cozy, and only then could he fall asleep.

Haha, who had been sleeping beside him, woke up halfway, turned over, lifted his head to look at Tang Bin, thought for a moment, and then settled back down. He placed his back fur back under his owner’s fingertips.

Ever since he realized that his favorability with Lin Moning had reached 50, Tang Bin had gained a little more confidence, and he found himself eager to run to the set of Lin Moning’s drama every day.

Gradually, he had almost become Lin Moning’s personal manager and assistant.

Not only did he personally design the packaging and career path for Lin Moning, but he also frequently accompanied him to shoots, handled schedules, and took care of everything himself.

As his focus on the entertainment industry grew, Tang Bin naturally became more concerned about Huayu’s matters.

His meticulous work habits made him unable to stop organizing everything clearly. He started investigating the company’s management system and public relations strategies, carefully reviewing their pros and cons, and thinking about improvement plans day and night. Within just a few days, he was already on par with professionals.

It wasn’t just the company’s staff who began to view him differently, even the entire Lu Group had heard about this suddenly motivated young master.

If his initial interest in the entertainment industry had been sparked by a little celebrity, the way he now modified company policies and overhauled employee welfare—including for the artists—clearly indicated that his interest had become a full-fledged commitment, one that couldn’t be supported by mere curiosity.

The tasks Young Master Rui was handling now were not simple matters that could be solved with a few words.

While Luo Yuntian felt both distressed and proud of his son, Tang Bin had already become a rising star and a source of pride for the family. Old Madam Luo couldn’t help but think, If my grandson can manage even a small, insignificant company so well, what couldn’t he accomplish?

It was entirely unconscious learning and late-night working, and Tang Bin didn’t even realize that, without him knowing, he had already changed others’ perceptions of him.

There was nothing he could do. Once he started paying attention to Lin Moning, he couldn’t stop himself from getting involved in anything related to the industry. He couldn’t help but want to do everything perfectly.

Two months passed like this, and after Lin Moning’s drama wrapped up, his schedule quickly filled up again.

The drama was adapted from a well-known fantasy romance novel that already had a huge reputation among the audience, and it was a favorite of many readers.

Because of this, some extreme, die-hard fans of the book felt that their beloved masterpiece was being “defiled” when they heard it was being turned into a TV show. This led to them holding grudges against the cast as well.

It seemed that Lin Moning’s current manager was particularly skilled in his work. He had secured the role of the second male lead for Lin Moning—a character who didn’t have much screen time in the original novel and was merely a background figure to enhance the romance between the leads. However, in the TV adaptation, this character’s role was expanded, turning him into a tragic second male lead.

So, when the drama aired, Lin Moning quickly gained a wave of TV fans thanks to his stunning looks, and amid the book fans’ complaints and online wars, he successfully rose in popularity, with his fame and fanbase approaching that of the male lead.

After the dramatic scene where his character, heartbroken because of unrequited love, aired, Lin Moning’s name became synonymous with his character’s role, and the video clips from the crew’s surprise shoot were leaked by the PR team, once again boosting his popularity.

With countless variety show invitations and a few advertising deals, Lin Moning’s career was on the fast track. He had become an overnight sensation and quickly entered the public eye, earning a spot as a promising young star.

However, just when his career was on the rise, news about Lin Moning having a powerful backer suddenly broke.

The evidence came from that morning when the crew had first barged into his room for a surprise shoot and captured the scene.