"Sure, you can shoot the scene, but make sure to control the scale," the manager from Xingluo Entertainment repeatedly emphasized. "Don't go too far."
Even though Lin Jianlu is still a newcomer, the company values him highly and wants to promote him as a singer-songwriter.
They sent Lin Jianlu to shoot this movie just to build up his popularity; they don't intend to use a CP hype to leech on Xie Wang's fame.
"Don't worry about it," the director of "Hidden Blade" said. "Just look at how arrogant DaWang usually is; he doesn't even deign to hold omegas' little hand. He won't touch anything he shouldn't touch. If I hadn't insisted, he would've tried to use camera angles for everything."
The director shouted out the door, "Is DaWang here?"
Xie Wang stormed in, clearly angry.
The alpha walked in with a stiff face, shoulders pushing the door open.
"You've got half an hour," the director said as he left, "then we'll start shooting. Get a little familiar with each other so it doesn't look too awkward on camera."
Lin Jianlu was sitting in the dressing room, buttoning up his white shirt. Hearing the door open, he saw Xie Wang in the mirror and nodded.
"Are you ready?" Xie Wang was unhappy and spoke in a somewhat harsh tone. "If you are, hurry up and get over here."
He smacked the script in his hand.
Lin Jianlu: "Yes."
"This part wasn't in the original script; it was added recently," Xie Wang said. "It's to supplement the backstory."
He was holding back his anger, and his manner of speaking wasn't as gentle as before, revealing a bit of his dominant nature.
"You only have a few lines in total and they're easy to remember," Xie Wang continued. "I'll lead the tempo for the rest. You just need to follow along with the dialogue."
Lin Jianlu: "Oh."
Despite his extremely bad mood, Xie Wang still explained the scene to Lin Jianlu in great detail.
"Come and give me a hug," Xie Wang said.
Lin Jianlu didn't move, only nodded slightly.
So Xie Wang walked over himself and hugged Lin Jianlu from behind, wrapping his arms around his waist.
The omega smelled so good—not pheromones, just a clean scent.
"That's right, don't resist me," Xie Wang said. "Get used to it first; we won't be hugging like this during the actual shoot."
"Oh," Lin Jianlu nodded.
His black hair moved slightly, revealing a small, pale patch of skin behind his ear.
Xie Wang felt a subtle stir in his heart as he noticed Lin Jianlu's hand hanging by his side; there was a ring on his slender, jade-white finger.
It was a prop from the set.
Lin Jianlu didn't like wearing rings.
Before his rebirth, Xie Wang deliberately didn't wear their wedding rings, and much later, he realized that Lin Jianlu had never worn his either.
"My ring prop hasn't been given to me yet," Xie Wang suddenly remembered.
"This one is yours." Lin Jianlu took off the ring and handed it to him.
The prop was sponsored by a jewelry brand, crafted with great detail. On the inside of the ring, Xie Wang's character name was engraved.
"And yours?" Xie Wang asked.
Lin Jianlu dug out a small red box from the table. Inside was a shiny silver ring.
Xie Wang took it in his hand and played with it for a bit.
The diameter is so small.
Are Lin Jianlu's fingers really that slender?
Their marriage was rushed, and the rings Xie Wang had gotten were off-the-shelf pieces from a jewelry brand, both of which were standard AO sizes.
It turns out that Lin Jianlu didn't like wearing it because it didn't fit.
"Hug me, and then what?" Lin Jianlu asked.
Xie Wang's expression softened a bit: "I might pull up your shirt, but the camera will only capture your waist. When I get into character, I'll act a bit rough to fit the role, so I apologize in advance."
"It's fine," Lin Jianlu replied.
Xie Wang: "Then we argue, you storm out, and meet Chen Yimo on the street. That's where the scene ends."
Lin Jianlu nodded: "Okay."
Sounds pretty straightforward.
The art studio scene was provided by Xingluo Entertainment, located on a busy street corner. Lin Jianlu had seen photos before arriving. The studio was tidy but showed signs of use, giving it a warm, lived-in feel, unlike a stiff, artificial set.
It's just that more than half of the drawing papers were covered with paintings of oranges and peaches.
"Tell your young master that we need to switch out the paintings on his easel," the props team requested from Xingluo's manager.
"He said no problem. This studio is only used when he travels to this city, so change them as you like," the manager said after making a call.
Right before the shoot, a small problem arose.
Chen Yimo, who was squatting by the low window of the studio feeding pigeons, suddenly entered his alpha susceptibility period, and his uncontrollable pheromones scared seven pigeons to the point of fainting.
Lin Jianlu was leaning over the windowsill, watering a silly-looking succulent in a bonsai pot with a watering can, and was startled.
Xie Wang quickly reached out and pulled Lin Jianlu away from the windowsill, shouting to the others, "Someone get in here and deal with this! Take Chen Yimo away, quickly!"
Lin Jianlu found an A inhibitor from his backpack and tossed it over to Chen Yimo.
Xie Wang's gaze swept over the mosquito-coil-eyed pigeons on the ground.
Just so-so. If it were his susceptibility period, he would've freaked out ten pigeons.
Wait a minute!
Why do Chen Yimo's pheromones smell like f*cking lychee?
"I'm going on vacation now. Hostage, wait a few days for me, and I'll come back to kidnap you," Chen Yimo said, slinging his bag over his shoulder before dashing off.
This left only Lin Jianlu and Xie Wang to work through the scene on their own.
Lin Jianlu's senses had just been assaulted by a choke-full of lychee scent, leaving his head spinning.
He didn't like overly sweet pheromones.
When he looked up, Xie Wang was standing nearby, staring at him intently.
Lin Jianlu: "..."
He didn't have the faintest idea that Chen Yimo's pheromone was lychee.
Xie Wang was visibly angry, and the air pressure around him was extremely low.
"DaWang!" The director snapped, "What are you glaring at? We're about to start filming!"
Lin Jianlu sat in front of the easel, painting the landscape on the canvas bit by bit.
"Goodbye, teacher!" A few child actors noisily said their goodbyes to him.
"Hmm," he paused his painting and smiled, "Be careful on your way."
The midday sunlight fell onto the front of the easel, making the omega's snowy skin appear almost translucent. He stood up and hung the painting by the window to dry.
There was a burst of wind chimes as the doorbell rang urgently, and the person who rushed in shattered the pool of sunlight in the room.
"Baby, I'm back," Xie Wang, playing the detective, called out as he stepped into the room, whistling at the person in the studio. "This case is really dangerous; I almost didn't make it back to see you."
"Stop right there," Lin Jianlu said, "Change your shoes."
Xie Wang chuckled helplessly, changing into slippers on the shelf by the door. He then walked over, lifted the person onto the table, and let the stubble on his chin rub against the omega's warm and soft neck.
Lin Jianlu's slightly startled reaction was very real, and sure enough, the director didn't yell 'cut.'
And this straight-A student would never forget his lines.
Lin Jianlu pushed Xie Wang away, tilting his head to glance at the still-swaying wind chime by the door. "You do know the way home."
"I've got another case tomorrow, a missing person for over a month. I've been asked to find them," Xie Wang said, holding down Lin Jianlu's resistance with one hand while undoing the neckline of his white shirt with the other, "and I'm this close to ferreting out the murderer behind the scenes."
Lin Jianlu struggled again, just at the right moment: "You're leaving again? You've hardly been home this month. Those missing people matter more to you than I do, the person right in front of you."
"If I disappear one day, you wouldn't even notice."
"Let's just get a divorce," Lin Jianlu said coldly.
Something snapped in Xie Wang's mind, a string tightening within him.
After his rebirth, the sole connection between him and Lin Jianlu seemed to be this role as an on-screen couple.
No divorce, absolutely not.
"Are you kidding me? No divorce." Xie Wang's movements grew much rougher as he yanked at the buttons, causing the omega to let out small gasps. His rough palm nearly brushed against the omega's gland.
"Cut! Stop," the director called out. "DaWang, be gentle! Your emotions are too intense!"
Director: "At this point, the detective thinks his wife is just saying something in anger, but his words are really half-true, half-false. Your emotion should be a mix of shock and mild anger, with a desire to get closer to make up for it—tone down that 'my wife's gone' furious reaction!"
Director: "Lin Jianlu is doing great. The newcomer's impressive, he's keeping up with DaWang's play! You two take a short break, and we'll continue in a minute."
"Laozi has been acting for so many years. This is the first time a newbie held his own and I got called out," Xie Wang laughed softly, a bit self-deprecatingly. "So many people around, and I embarrassed myself. Shit! This scene is definitely making it into the bloopers."
He looked up and was stunned.
Lin Jianlu was laughing.
In over a year of marriage, he had hardly ever seen Lin Jianlu laugh.
The omega's eyes were almond-shaped, giving them an innocent, childlike look, but with slightly elongated corners that added a touch of brilliance when he laughed.
So cute.
His wife is so cute.
"Did it hurt just now?" Xie Wang asked.
"I'm fine," Lin Jianlu replied, fiddling with the ring on his finger.
Xie Wang grinned.
How strange; is this what it feels like to like someone?
Getting angry over just a few words of the other person, and also feeling a burst of joy from a single expression.
Xie Wang reached out and carefully rebuttoned Lin Jianlu's shirt, helping the omega to smooth out the slightly rumpled collar.
"Alright, continue," the director called out.
"Let's just get a divorce," Lin Jianlu delivered his line.
Xie Wang pulled back Lin Jianlu's collar. "Are you kidding me? No divorce."
"Cut! Stop!" the director shouted, "DaWang, too gentle. The detective's adventurous personality isn't coming through."
Xie Wang: "..."
Over at Xingluo Entertainment, the manager's face was already as dark as a pot's bottom.
A famous actor ng-ed twice. Is it that difficult to pull off a stripping clothes scene? And stripping more than twice?
"DaWang, find the feeling." The director wasn't worried. "Let me know when you're ready."
Lin Jianlu remained seated on the table, his shirt collar still open. Xie Wang hadn't buttoned it up for him, and he didn't feel like fixing it himself.
"Was my acting bad?" Lin Jianlu asked.
"No…" Xie Wang replied, "You were great. I'm the one who keeps messing up."
Lin Jianlu: "Oh."
After a pause, he asked again, "Is Senior dissatisfied with me?"
"How could I be?!" Xie Wang said, almost reflexively.
Lin Jianlu fell silent again.
After a while, Xie Wang seemed to have made up his mind about something and asked a question totally unrelated to filming: "In Seeking Sound, why did you switch mentors?"
Lin Jianlu didn't want him.
"Huh?" Lin Jianlu seemed surprised by the question. "Because Teacher Song's guidance is more professional."
Xie Wang: "..."
So I lost at the starting line.
"But…" Lin Jianlu continued, "that's just a secondary reason."
Xie Wang pricked up his ears: "Then what's the main reason?"
"I've been very close to Senior lately and want to avoid arousing suspicion," Lin Jianlu said. "I'm afraid it's bad for you."
Xie Wang: "!"
So that's how it is.
Lin Jianlu had distanced himself out of consideration for him.
His mood, which had been dark for several days, suddenly brightened.
Seeing the person in front of him suddenly radiate with a renewed energy, Lin Jianlu's lips curved into a slight smile again.
Strong and not overly gentle, controllable and having a sense of security.
Despite being a bit too moral A, Xie Wang is really a good alpha.
If Xie Wang were to mark him temporarily, Lin Ming would not dare to touch him for the time being.
"The director said I'm angry here?" Lin Jianlu asked.
"Yes," Xie Wang replied. "It's more like an offhand comment, the fun between the two."
Xie Wang: "So your struggle should be less intense; what you did just now was good."
Lin Jianlu: "So I can even touch you?"
Xie Wang nodded vigorously. His wife's comprehension is too good. What a shame he didn't act before.
Xie Wang: "Yes, yes. It will make it even better."
Lin Jianlu looked thoughtful.
Director: "Ready yet? If you're ready, let's get started. If DaWang makes a mistake again, he'll have to buy candy to coax Xiao Lin."
"If I mess up again, it means all these years of acting were for nothing," Xie Wang said.
The director called for action.
A worn-out, travel-stained alpha burst into the cozy art studio.
The two had a little quarrel because of a disagreement.
Xie Wang heard Lin Jianlu say, "Let's just get a divorce."
Lin Jianlu's tone was cold, his eyes turned away, yet his fair fingers were against Xie Wang's chest, his palm pressed tightly, trailing all the way down to his abdomen.
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