Chapter 11

Ye Chen was afraid that the missing manhole cover would cause an accident. In a state of adrenaline rush, he completed a series of subconscious actions, running madly with the nearly hundred-pound manhole cover for dozens of meters and then smoothly returning to the starting point, sneaking onto the tricycle amidst the cursing of passersby, and speeding away!

Having just moved the manhole cover, Ye Chen didn’t feel much discomfort. He felt that the year of consistent exercise had paid off. After driving for a few hundred meters, he stopped the tricycle, comforted the frightened and dehydrated Hundun Cub, and then took off his tattered jacket, flexing his arms to show off to the cubs, “Look at Gege’s biceps. They are reliable when it matters!”

The cubs exchanged puzzled looks, silently questioning: What biceps? Where are they?

“…” Ye Chen sighed and put on his jacket as if nothing had happened.

After selling the scrap, Ye Chen took the cubs to IKEA to enjoy various cute children’s furniture and toys. He also bought five IKEA ice creams for one yuan each for the divine beast cubs. The afternoon filming went smoothly. It wasn’t until the next day when he woke up that Ye Chen realized his arm muscles, which had exerted too much force, were sore belatedly. Not only were they sore, but they also trembled slightly when he tried to hold something.

To strain his muscles from moving a manhole cover… Ye Chen, who got up early to tend to the crops, had mixed feelings as he stirred urea solution with trembling hands to fertilize the green leafy vegetables.

In the front yard, Hundun Cub circled and danced like an orange bee, its chubby little body tracing paths of light in the air, gradually forming what looked like a door with these golden lines following Hundun Cub’s movements, as if sketched in the air.

This was the chaotic imprint that could allow people to traverse space. Today, Hundun Cub would accompany Ye Chen to the film set to place another chaotic imprint, meeting the needs of Ye Chen’s sporadic farming and allowing the divine beast cubs to scavenge for extra meals at the film set.

Ye Chen’s two major needs seemed rather unimpressive…

After feeding a few cubs breakfast, Xiao Gao’s car was waiting outside the door. Ye Chen put Hundun Cub on his shoulder and emphasized the travel rules to Hundun Cub before opening the door. These rules covered various embarrassing things Hundun Cub might do, including but not limited to: even if you’re greedy, you can’t swallow food from others’ hands, mouths, or stomachs, and you can’t swallow others’ belongings, especially wallets…

“Forget it,” Ye Chen said bluntly, “As long as I haven’t said you can swallow something, you’re not allowed to swallow anything, understand?”

“Gudun.” Hundun Cub fluttered its wings to indicate understanding.

Upon arriving at the film set, Ye Chen took Hundun Cub to the restroom. The last cubicle in the restroom was a storeroom, where no one entered except for the cleaners. It was an ideal place to place the chaotic imprint.

Hundun Cub leaped from Ye Chen’s shoulder and completed the drawing. With the space between the quadrangle and the storeroom connected, Chubby Cub, who was peering at this side of the passage from the other side, brightened his eyes and turned to call out to the other three cubs, “Dun Dun has connected the space la!”

Hundun Cub: “Gudun gudun!” Its tone was filled with pride and mystery.

“I’ll try it.” Ye Chen stepped through the space door that was about the height of a person. The next moment, he suddenly appeared in the quadrangle.

Ye Chen stood in the courtyard, and with a turn of his head, he could clearly see Shen Mofeng swirling around in the utility room through the spatial door. He took a step forward and immediately returned to the utility room.

“It worked!” Ye Chen’s heart skipped a beat. He clenched his fist in excitement and called out to the four cubs, “Come here, I’ll show you where to get box lunches… Oh, and don’t make any noise here, don’t touch people, and try not to touch anything else.”

With Hou Cub and Pulu Cub on either side, supporting Xuanwu Cub, and Big Brother Qiongqi cut of the rear imposingly, the lunchbox mooching squad arrived at the mission site.

Rubbing his hands together, Ye Chen organized his thoughts and prepared to give the cubs a pep talk.

“Normally, Gege only takes three box lunches per meal,” Ye Chen instructed earnestly, like an old father figure. “Mooching meals is an art; we shouldn’t overdo it.”

The cubs nodded in unison.

“Secondly, we should be grateful,” Ye Chen continued with solemnity. “After mooching, we should say thank you in our hearts and silently offer sincere blessings to the other party. If we can do something in return, that’s even better. Understand?”

The cubs’ eyes sparkled with innocence and appreciation.

Ye Chen was pleased and proceeded to outline the plan for picking up leftover meals. “In addition to the three fixed portions that Gege helps you get each meal, if the entire crew finishes eating but there are still leftovers in box lunches, you can take the leftovers.”

Ye Chen cleared his throat, his tone deep and authoritative. “As the saying goes, one meter of water for seven buckets of rice. It means that farmers work hard, and it’s our duty not to let their hard work go to waste in the trash.”

Following this, the five well-trained scavenging cubs silently followed Ye Chen to scout out the box lunch distribution location.

After the scavenging plan was arranged, the cubs found the crew fascinating and didn’t want to go back. Ye Chen didn’t force them since no one could see the five of them anyway. He went to the dressing room to get ready, while the cubs sat on the sofa, curiously looking around.

Currently, 《Aspiration For The Throne》 had opened its set for a crew visit. There would be a group interview for the main actors later, and the media had already started arriving at the set. Ye Chen had only recently entered the industry and lacked experience in dealing with media reporters, especially when faced with tricky or private questions. He had relied on Gu Qiu to save him in several situations where he couldn’t handle the questions, but his agent wasn’t around this time. He couldn’t help feeling nervous when he thought about the media’s probing questions.

“Chen Ge, it’s time,” Xiao Gao said, entering the dressing room.

Reluctantly, Ye Chen followed Xiao Gao to the pre-arranged group interview location. Several main actors had gathered, and the media flocked to them. The microphones were aimed at Shen Mofeng first, and those who couldn’t fit in hurriedly moved to the other actors. Ye Chen trembled as he took a microphone.

The interview began formally, with most of the initial questions directed at Shen Mofeng and mostly about the movie 《Aspiration For The Throne》. Shen Mofeng answered calmly, but as the questions shifted to the actors, Ye Chen found himself having to speak more.

“This is your first time on the big screen. Why did you choose this film?”

“Because…” Ye Chen was nervous. “The script is very exciting, and the character’s temperament suits me.” After the formulaic answer, Ye Chen paused for a moment, suddenly feeling that his enthusiastic fan persona was unstable.

He didn’t have time to weigh his words carefully. Adhering to the principle of never showing his cards, he gritted his teeth and added, “And… I heard that a senior whom I greatly respect will also be participating.”

“…He’s really just a kid.” Shen Mofeng smiled and glanced at Ye Chen, his gaze lowered.

For artists to make such fanboy comments could easily be interpreted as flattery or trying to cozy up to someone influential. If the other party didn’t respond, it would add another layer of embarrassment, like having a hot face against a cold butt. That’s why artists rarely bring up such sensitive topics voluntarily.

“May I ask who this senior is?” 

Ye Chen’s eyes flickered momentarily with emptiness. When he came back to himself, he was already immersed in his fake fan persona, looking shy. “It’s Teacher Shen Mofeng.”

“Is he your idol?”

Almost imperceptibly, Ye Chen nodded and pursed his lips. “Yes.”

“Your hand has been shaking. Is it because of nervousness from being in close contact with your idol?”

“…Not really,” inserting some truth into the lie makes it more believable—Ye Chen, a professional fake fan, shook his head and whispered, “It’s not that. I strained my muscles from lifting weights at the gym yesterday, so my hands shake when I carry things…”

Lifting cast iron manhole covers, abbreviated as “lifting iron.”

Shen Mofeng chuckled, and the journalists were also amused by this overly honest answer. Then, Shen Mofeng brought his own microphone to Ye Chen’s lips, maintaining the posture of holding the microphone for Ye Chen while pressing down on Ye Chen’s trembling hands with his other hand, smiling. “Just say it like this.”

Ye Chen was slightly taken aback, feeling too deeply immersed in the act. A hint of red appeared on his ears. “Thank you.”

The journalists became interested and tried to dig deeper into the details of Shen Mofeng, the current hot young idol, and movie star.

“So, how long have you liked Shen Mofeng?”

Ye Chen calculated on his fingers. “Almost five years.”

“Wow, so you’ve liked him since debut?”

“Yes,” Ye Chen said confidently, almost believing it himself.

“Did you enter the entertainment industry because of Shen Mofeng?”

Ye Chen’s eyes sparkled, his cheeks flushed, and he let out a rainbow fart: “…Yes, just to be closer to Teacher Shen.”

Shen Mofeng turned his face slightly, looking down at Ye Chen with a gentle smile still on his lips, but his aura was slowly, subtly… changing.

…This hardcore fan persona is solidifying, thought Ye Chen, the fake fan, with composure.

After Ye Chen made his declaration as a super fan, the microphones quickly turned to Shen Mofeng, asking for his opinion on Ye Chen as a fellow actor.

“Ye Chen is a very hardworking and dedicated actor, with excellent acting skills,” Shen Mofeng said, taking back the microphone he had extended to Ye Chen. He started with a few compliments that couldn’t be faulted with official rhetoric, and then added with a touch of drama, “And…”

All the reporters present perked up their ears.

Shen Mofeng smiled faintly, then reached out and gently ruffled Ye Chen’s hair, with a hint of crossing the line, saying, “He’s a very obedient kid.”

Ye Chen was still fully immersed in his fake fan role, and his face flushed red all of a sudden.

And this young fresh meat, who was teased by the veteran actor and felt at a loss, still blushed and thanked his senior earnestly, “Thank you for your approval. I will work even harder.”

The journalists erupted…

Outside the crowd, the divine beast cubs watched the excitement with relish.

Hou Cub whispered to the other cubs, “Gege likes that person, and he’s even blushing.”

“What’s liking?” Pulu Cub asked curiously.

“It means Gege wants to hold hands with him,” Hou Cub explained, his cheeks turning red and sticky sweet.

“Tsk.” Big Brother Qiongqi snorted disdainfully. “It’s not like they’re kindergarten kids.”

Hou Cub retorted, “Then what do you think?”

Big Brother Qiongqi spoke in a mysterious tone as if sharing physiological knowledge among teenagers, “Actually, Gege…”

The cubs nervously swallowed their saliva.

Big Brother Qiongqi continued in a low voice, “Gege even wants to kiss him.”

“Aiyayaya!” “Ai…ya” The divine beast cubs blushed and ran around in embarrassment!

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s account book today:

Today’s income: 20 catties of plastic bottles * 3 yuan/catty + 5 catties of aluminum cans * 0.8 yuan/catty + 12 catties of cardboard * 1 yuan/catty = 76 yuan

Today’s expenditure: IKEA ice cream, 1 yuan each * 5 = 5 yuan

Balance: 105.5 yuan + 76 yuan – 5 yuan = 176.5 yuan

Divine Beast Cubs: We need to find a way to help Gege kiss Uncle!

Shen Mofeng: You’re so good, Uncle will buy each of you an ice cream shop.

Actually, there won’t be any sponsorship storyline unless there’s an unexpected twist~ Ye Qiongqiong is so strong hhhh, doesn’t really seem like someone who would seek sponsorship~ [doge] [doge]

TN:

How do the babies know what kissing is?! Especially the one born just yesterday?!! YOU’RE TOO YOUNG! 

 Qi Qi acting like a worldly-wise old man is so cute😂. I feel sorry for ML XD. He really thinks he’s all that. It’s going to be so embarrassing when he finds out the truth😭!