Chapter 42 – My younger brother’s waist is soft and easy to push down

Jie Jie: Long chapter ahead~ I was planning to make it into two parts but it didn’t seem right, so here it is! (o´▽`o)

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Zhou Jinchen, who was seated opposite him, didn’t open his mouth to answer this question. An Xumo stared blankly at the other party then lowered his head and flipped through the top part of the script.

On the page with the cast list printed on it, two characters were listed firstly side by side:

Ling Sihang — as Zhou Jinchen — Ye Qisheng — as Lin Rui.

An Xumo stared at the words Ye Qisheng and Lin Rui three times and checked back and forth, still not believing his own eyes.

He raised his head to look at Zhou Jinchen, stumbling over his words, “From the start, they didn’t say that there will be a kissing scene……”

Although he has no experience in acting but isn’t this kind of thing usually notified to the actors beforehand? To confirm whether the actor can accept it or not……

Zhou Jinchen’s face was not clear, but An Xumo was so shocked by the news that he didn’t pay as much attention to his brother’s expression as before.

Zhou Jinchen said, “During the filming process, there will be various reasons combined and the script will be revised.”

Although he asked this question, An Xumo also realized that even if he knew he was going to do a kissing scene at the beginning, he would consider it from a comprehensive perspective. In other words, it’s impossible for him to give up such an opportunity to follow the big lead.

But, but……

An Xumo whispered one of his biggest concerns, “I, I might not do this……”

No matter, whether on-cam or off-cam, he has never experienced this.

He can learn other acting techniques seriously, but the kissing scene is……

Even if he can put down the pressure in his heart and work hard to complete the act, the kissing scene is definitely not a scene that can simply be watched in action. Especially at Ma Lao’s request, An Xumo must show the character’s emotional state as much as possible.

How would he know what kind of psychological state he will be in during the kiss? An Xumo wanted to cry without tears. Watching the progress of the official shooting in the morning, even if Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui both took the Film Emperor, Ma Lao asked every scene to be repeated at least three times.

An Xumo’s voice could almost be described as pitiful. It was hard for him to collect himself and turn the script from the initial cast listed to the 35th scene, but the words were so overwhelming that it was hard to distinguish them.

An Xumo abandoned himself to despair and directly turned to the 37th scene. He wanted to see what happened, but before the page number was reached, the script in his hand was taken away.

Zhou Jinchen directly closed the script he took, “Don’t think too much.”

He called over his assistant again and told him to take the script away. When he looked back, An Xumo’s eyes were still glued to the fading script.

“…….”

“Learn the basics first,” Zhou Jinchen said. “Your role hasn’t started, and the script hasn’t been finalized yet.”

An Xumo’s mood slowly recovered a bit. He didn’t want to cause Zhou Jinchen any more trouble, “I see. Thank you, Brother Jinchen.”

While they were talking, the other actors who had gone back to get snacks also came back one after another, ready to start filming in the afternoon.

Before starting to work, An Xumo still went over the plot of 《Different Roads》 in his mind.

–

《Different Roads》 is a commercial drama film. The main plot connecting the film together is the three murder cases with similar criminal methods, and each murder case was exactly ten years apart. The film opens just after the third murder case occurred. While investigating the third case, the Lin Cheng Police discovered the strangeness of the second case. Therefore, Ye Qisheng, as the family of the victim in the second case, and his childhood friend Ling Sihang, took the police’s attention.

The two best friends, who have sworn to stay away from each other since the early years, are forced to reconnect because of the police investigation. As the investigation progressed, the police managed to catch the culprit of the third murder case. Because of this, the second murder case made no progress and was temporarily put on hold.

Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng were released smoothly. However, at this time, the police discovered that the perpetrator of the third murder case turned out to be the son of the first two crimes. He claimed that his father had only committed the crime once, and accurately pointed out the difference between the second case and the crime committed by the father and son.

The police regained their suspicion on Ye Qisheng and Ling Sihang, but they never found enough evidence to convict them. The relationship between the two was like water and fire, deflecting their confessions, but subtly clears the suspicion of the other party.

After all, the paper couldn’t contain the fire. The police found a breakthrough from Ye Qisheng’s slip of the tongue and discovered that these pair of friends who seemingly broken up have not really broken up. They finally found the key evidence to arrest Ling Sihang.

Ling Sihang finally admits that he was indeed responsible for the murder.

Ye Qisheng’s uncle, Zhao Jiujiu, was in debt because of drug abuse and as if possessed, he planned to kidnap his sister’s child to extort money from her. The target was Ye Qisheng, but during the kidnapping, Zhao JiuJiu, who had abducted Ye Qisheng, was discovered by Ling Sihang. Ling Sihang wanted to save Ye Qisheng but accidentally used the murder weapon prepared by Zhao Jiujiu in the process of resistance, and killing him.

During the kidnapping of Ye Qisheng, Zhao Jiujiu would threaten him that if no one came to pay the ransom, he would kill Ye Qisheng by imitating the unsolved case ten years ago. As a result, Zhao Jiujiu himself was killed. In a panic to escape from the police, the two boys used the tools that Zhao Jiujiu had prepared to disguise the murder scene as an imitation of the murder.

The police at that time were really misled by the imitated murder scene and treated the case together with the outstanding unsolved case ten years ago, regarding it as a serial murder case. The progress of the case was slow and both Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng were never suspected.

However, the shadow of having killed someone with their own hands cannot be washed away as easily as bloodstains. Even though the two men have anonymously turned in the real killer, Xiong Shouzhen, who took drugs with Zhao Jiujiu and bragged about his crimes ten years ago, and because of the financial dispute between the two, the police determined that the two murders were the work of Xiong Shouzhen.

But the process of the warm body becoming cold under the palm of the hand is accompanied by nightmares every night. Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng finally decided to pretend to break relations and never see each other again. This way, they can avoid the suspicion of the police, and secondly, they don’t have to be reminded of their dark experience by the sight of each other.

Under the witness of the people around them, their relationship quickly soured and they eventually parted ways as Ling Sihang’s family moved abroad.

It wasn’t until Xiong Shouzhen’s son committed the third crime that the police returned to this point and finally apprehended the perpetrators of all three cases.

However, just when everyone thought it was over, the ballet dancer Bai Qingchi, who was harmed by Ye Qisheng’s uncle, Zhao Jiujiu, gave new evidence. The police confirmed that Ye Qisheng was the one who killed Zhao Jiujiu and Ling Sihang was the one who cooperated with him. Ye Qisheng deliberately made the slip of the tongue that caused Ling Sihang to be caught by the police, and he wanted Ling Sihang to confess his guilt on his behalf.

Ling Sihang finally admitted that he really took the blame, not just because he wanted to protect his friend.

The other reason is……he fell in love with Ye Qisheng a long time ago.

These two former friends eventually made different choices. Their once sincere friendship has finally fallen into silence.

–

The role An Xumo playing is the ballet dancer, Bai Qingchi, who was persecuted by Zhao Jiujiu. His appearances in the film are not too many, he is the last piece of the puzzle when the film is deciphered, which is why he is ranked as the male four in the cast.

In the script before the revision, An Xumo, Zhou Jinchen, and Lin Rui did not have much interaction. He played a small character that was not very eye-catching in the early stage. Although the various scenes were imaginably beautiful, but the overall exit scenes were not too many. He was responsible for dancing in the early stage and was responsible for delivering the last piece of evidence in the later stage, which was buried in the secondary plot.

Thus……An Xumo is puzzled. What kind of changes did Ma Lao make to the script in order to get him to film a kissing scene with Ye Qisheng played by Lin Rui?

The two main characters in the film have their own romantic relationships. Ye Qisheng married early and had children, while Ling Sihang remained single because of his secret love for Ye Qisheng. Bai Qingchi, played by An Xumo, was misunderstood by people around him for practicing ballet all year round. After Zhao Jiujiu destroyed his stable life, he was driven out of his home by his parents who didn’t understand him since he was a child. In the movie, he adopted a young boy who likes dancing and lived with him.

Isn’t Ye Qisheng heterosexual? An Xumo thought in distress, this is the reason why Ling Sihang couldn’t ask for it, and never expressed his feelings. Although from his point of view, watching his brother play the role of a secret admirer of Film Emperor Lin, his heart will feel a little subtle, but if he and Lin Rui do a kissing scene……

Alas, can the script be revised again, ah?

The filming in the afternoon went smoothly, but for An Xumo who was watching, the process of memorizing was somewhat difficult. He couldn’t stop thinking about the new script for the 37th scene. He had to make a huge effort to focus his attention on remembering it.

After the several scheduled scenes in the afternoon were played, the crew wrapped up without a delay. However, because of the night scenes, the dinner was quite tight. Several actors did not change their costumes and even took advantage of the time after dinner to touch up their makeup.

When An Xumo finished his meal, he was standing in a place where he would not get in the way, while nibbling on a beef jerky. Liu Longfei, who was passing by, saw him. He smiled and came over to greet him, “Xiao An!”

“Assistant Director Liu.”

An Xumo nodded towards the man and when he saw Liu Longfei’s eyes on the beef jerky in his hand, he lowered his head and pulled one out of his pocket and handed it to the man, “Want some?”

“Just call me Brother Liu,” Liu Longfei smiled, but did not refuse. “Then, thank you, Xiao An.”

He took the beef jerky, directly opening the seal with his teeth, and bit off a small half of the beef. Before he could chew a few more times, Liu Longfei’s expression lit up, “Hey, it’s delicious!”

Tang Tang prepared a special product for An Xumo which she had sent someone to buy from Hucheng, where the authentic beef is much tastier than the ones sold in the market. Seeing that Liu Lonfei liked it a lot, An Xumo handed over another stick and the two of them chatted about the brand of the beef jerky. An Xumo timely asked, “Brother Liu, do you know about the new script changes?”

He just spoke casually and didn’t really expect to ask anything. Unexpectedly, Liu Longfei’s expression suddenly became serious. He looked around and confirmed that no one was paying attention to their side, and then he said to An Xumo, “I was just about to talk to you about this. Come here, Xiao An.”

An Xumo was a little confused, but he went to a lounge next to him with Liu Longfei. After seeing that no one was around, Liu Longfei said to An Xumo, “Xiao An, your role as the male four has changed a lot.”

An Xumo thought to himself that he knew and he had been struggling with this all afternoon.

Liu Longfei continued, “You know the original situation, 《Different Roads》 is a dual male lead movie. Except for the two main characters, the roles of the other characters are similar. Bai Qingchi is already considered one of the important roles. But even if he could be ranked as the male four, he still wouldn’t have too many scenes.”

An Xumo nodded, “I know.”

He had a faint guess, could it be……the change also increased the roles of the male four?

As expected, Liu Longfei said, “But ever since the casting, Ma Lao has been working with the screenwriter, Mr. Tao, to discuss the script revisions. As a result, they’ve changed it up to now but they’ve added a lot of scenes for the male four.”

An Xumo was confused, listening to Liu Longfei’s tone, why does this not feel like a good thing?

“Xia An, I’m a little worried,” Liu Longfei sighed. “Brother Liu is straightforward, don’t mind it. I mean, you are acting for the first time and sometimes it’s not a good thing to add too much drama to your character.”

An Xumo immediately thought of the kissing scene in the 37th scene.

This is definitely not a good thing for him. If the filming really started and An Xumo has NG-ed, Ma Lao will certainly not have a good impression of him either.

“Moreover, I also asked Zhiwei about it, he also found it a bit strange,” Liu Longfei said. “Generally speaking, the scenes of each character’s part are basically fixed before the filming starts. Although there will be changes later, except for uncontrollable accidents such as personnel changes requiring replacements, most of them are minor adjustments.”

“If it’s really a drastic addition or deletion of a scene,” Liu Longfei’s voice was slightly hesitant. In the end, he brought it through vaguely, “there will always be a reason.”

An Xumo was slightly at a loss.

When Liu Longfei saw the boy’s expression, he only knew that the other party didn’t understand, but he couldn’t say much. If it wasn’t because of Zhang Zhiwei’s relationship, coupled with An Xumo’s own excellent qualifications and understanding, if it were any other person, he wouldn’t have said so much.

“Last time, the investor who wanted the male four, not only did they not remove from investing, they also never stopped negotiating with the crew……”

Liu Longfei vaguely mentioned half a sentence, and he did not continue to say more. He gently patted An Xumo’s back and said, “Anyway, Xiao An, these days you should learn the senior’s acting and techniques. It’s your first time acting. Ma Lao will definitely be a little more understanding of you. But Ma Lao’s standards are quite strict, you must be mentally prepared.”

An Xumo nodded and only then did Liu Longfei walk out of the lounge with him. The clapperboard was ready and started to prepare for the filming, and An Xumo also found a suitable place to watch.

The last investor……

Naturally, An Xumo still remembered this incident but at that time, his mind was mostly focused on Zhou Jingchen and with Ma Mingcheng’s casting, An Xumo didn’t think about it anymore.

Assistant Director Liu came to tell him about this, is it because of the investor that Ma Lao and the scriptwriter added male four scenes? An Xumo thought, he is acting for the first time. Not only will his acting look green,^[1]青涩: underripe; (fig.) young and inexperienced. but his mentality will also certainly not be stable as that of a veteran actor. When the time comes, if something goes wrong on the scene……

It will affect Ma Lao’s impression of him. If thinking about the disadvantages, he might even……not let him continue.

An Xumo moved for a while.

Is this the reason why Assistant Director Liu specifically came to mention him? The investor first urged to add more roles for the male four, and when he was not up for the task, they would replace him with their chosen actor. Therefore, Assistant Director Liu repeatedly told him to make sure An Xumo performs well.

As An Xumo thought about it, his eyes fell on Zhou Jinchen in front of the camera.

The scene they are going to film tonight is the one where Ye Qisheng’s uncle, Zhao Jiujiu, kidnaps Ye Qisheng and is found by Ling Sihang. Zhou Jinchen, followed behind and hid in the dark, staring at Qian Lingyun, who plays Zhao Jiujiu.

In the outdoor scene at night, there is always a lack of light. Even if someone is on the side to do the lighting, it still seems difficult for the crew to shoot. However, Zhou Jinchen’s facial outline is relatively three-dimensional. After Ma Lao watched it a few times, he specifically told the camera to let him take a silhouette shot. At present, the effect is also very good.

An Xumo looked at the serious Zhou Jinchen then took another look at the contents of the camera on display.

My brother is really good-looking, he thought to himself. In order to see his brother for a little while longer, he won’t be discouraged to give up this opportunity.

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With a good start on the first day, the filming schedule for the next few days also went smoothly. Even the always demanding Ma Lao had a new record of getting through two takes with no problems.

An Xumo continued to use himself as a backup camera and learned a lot these days. Since he was watching the whole process, he spent more time on the set than any other actors, and the other actors had a chance to take a break.

There is only An Xumo, as long as the scene is playing, and the camera began to operate, he is always there.

With so many people on the set, An Xumo’s performance was naturally seen by everyone. Many people didn’t like him at first because he was an idol and had no experience in acting, except for dancing, which might fit the role a bit.

Like An Xumo, there are a lot of people who have starred in various movies and TV shows. However, the number of characters who have really managed to spread out of the circle and let passers-by boast along with them can be counted on one hand. The role that idols play is more about the usefulness of their own traffic to boost the box office and ratings.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of thing. Just like when they learned that An Xumo would be joining the movie, many people, due to An Xumo’s own traffic, would not show it on the surface even if they were muttering in their hearts. However, there will be private discussions, and some people wanting to bet jokingly on how many NG strips An Xumo will use up.

However, after the crew officially started shooting, and An Xumo who had been watching the scenes for several days, the voices quickly subsided and were no longer mentioned again.

His efforts were seen by everyone, from the extra films in the morning and catching up on the night scenes. No matter what shots were taken, An Xumo would always be watching and listening to the director carefully when he was talking about other people’s scenes. 

Moreover, the boy looks good and is really sensible. He speaks with a warm voice and can accurately call everyone’s name. Even when he was not filming, he would come forward to help when he sees work nearby.

Acting is not only the talent but also the attitude of the actor himself. An Xumo’s performance on the set these days really can’t make people feel resentment with him. Not only was he not resented, but in less than a week, all the crew members over the age of thirty-five had basically praised him.

In Tang Tang’s words, An Xumo is more likely to evoke motherly instincts and fatherly affection.

An Xumo didn’t pay much attention to this, his mind was still on acting. He also felt a little tired from remembering a lot of things for a long time, but every night when he recalled it again, there will always be new gains and progress, and his mood is getting more and more relaxed.

That night, Ma Lao finally did not arrange late-night acting and the crew finished up early after a busy week. A few actors gathered to play fight the landlord, and also invited An Xumo, who had gradually become familiar over the past few days.

An Xumo wanted to go but he had yoga and fitness plans in the evening, and there were already enough people to play fight the landlord, so he declined the invitation.

These days are tight, and An Xumo’s fitness time had been compressed a lot. Finally, with a little more time, he wants to strengthen his exercises so that when the filming of Bai Qingchi starts in a few days, his body will no longer need to meet the requirements of a ballet dancer.

Because it was a long day, An Xumo didn’t stay in his room but went to the gym in the hotel. The hotel is relatively large in scale with four gyms in total. The crew specially reserved the one closest to their room for the cast to exclusively use.

However, despite the crew’s careful consideration, not many people actually go to the gym. The daytime filming was exhausting enough and there weren’t many roles in the movie that requires physical fitness. The few times An Xumo came to the gym, he was the only one in the room.

It was the same at this time. An Xumo used his room card to open the gym permission, and put his water bottle on the wooden table beside him as he entered. He had already changed into slim-fit workout clothes for training. His young and long body shape was on full display, the curving of his calves is so beautiful that one can’t take their eyes off of them.

An Xumo familiarly stuck his phone on the bracket on the wall. He did fifteen minutes of warm-up before pulling out his yoga mat from the corner and turning on special background music for yoga.

The location of the gym was only one floor lower than the room they were staying in. As seen from the glossy glass, there is a brightly lit film and television studio outside the window. There were stars gleaming in the distant sky, and a crescent moon hung in the corner of the sky, which was enough to make one feel tranquil.

In the melodious and gentle music, An Xumo bent backward with his hands behind, his body in a complete arc, and pressing his palm directly against the soft cushion on the floor. Because of these movements, his sport’s top has been pulled above his navel, his waist fully exposed, making two attractive arcs.

An Xumo exhaled gently, his white flat abdomen tightly stretched. He slowly raised his right hand supporting the ground and handed over the weight of his upper body to his left hand, and then he bent his right foot back and slowly touched his right toe with his right hand.

The degree of difficulty of this movement is a bit high, but with An Xumo’s soft waist, and the pressure to perform the movement is not too great. After successfully touching the toes for five seconds, An Xumo returned to the position of both hands and feet on the ground and then began to switch to the left hand and foot to continue this movement.

When he placed the cushion earlier, An Xumo chose a position against the wall where he could only see the corner of the wall and not the door when he was so far back. It wasn’t until he finished five sets of movements and began to stretch sideways with one hand on the floor that An Xumo, who was in this position with his hand straight, saw the figure standing not far from the door when he turned his head.

“…….”

An Xumo froze in the middle of doing the movement, the music on his phone continued, obscuring his awareness of the sound of the door opening.

In surprise, the right arm, which had been supporting on the ground for a long time, suddenly felt a stabbing pain like an electric shock. An Xumo’s arm weakened, and his body which was sideways and in a lower waist position suddenly fell forward.

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The author has something to say:

Xiao Mo’s waist, it’s a treasure (cough

More fat! Cross the waist xd

The additional scenes of male four will be explained later along with the relationship between the male four and the two male leads after the show. Does anyone want to guess the relationship of these three men after the change? Wah-3-