Chapter 29: Heartache

"What did you just shoot?" Xie Wang raised his hand to catch a can of Coke thrown over by Chen Yimo.

"A shot of me refueling my car on the roadside while casually doing something bad. He was just watching, super relaxed, sitting there. A few close-ups and that was it. I'm so tired," Chen Yimo said. "How's the search for clothes going, Da Wang?"

Xie Wang: "It's custom-made. We have to wait for half a month."

"Sounds about right," Chen Yimo said. "Let's move on to shooting other scenes first. I can't wait to see YoYo in a wedding dress."

"You think you can just call him YoYo?" Xie Wang rolled his eyes.

"? His Weibo username is 'Nine-Colored Deer Lin YoYo,' so why can't I call him that?" Chen Yimo rolled his eyes even harder.

Lin Jianlu seemed to find their bickering annoying and put on his headphones, working on his music composition whenever he got a chance.

"What song are you working on lately?" Xie Wang took off one of the headphones and put it on himself. "Let your former mentor have a listen."

Xie Wang was stunned for a moment. The familiar melody was a song he hadn't heard in a long time since his rebirth.

It was one of Lin Jianlu's solo tracks.

"Still haven't finished recording it?" Xie Wang asked.

"No, I'll be heading to the studio for a few days starting tomorrow," Lin Jianlu replied.

Chen Yimo: "Then once you're back, we have to catch up on our scenes. After the script revisions, there are quite a few scenes where we play against each other."

There really are a lot, even more than the romantic scenes with me.
This is stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com/p/homepage.html
Xie Wang gritted his teeth, feeling quite displeased.

But after Lin Jianlu joined, the whole story of "Hidden Blade" indeed became more complete. Beyond the power struggle between the protagonist detective and the antagonist yukaihan, there was now an added psychological and emotional contest.

"The hotel's boxed meals seem to have arrived," Chen Yimo said. "Da Wang, hurry and eat. There's a night scene after dark. Not sure which of us goes first, but Lin YoYo is definitely in it."

"Alright." Xie Wang went to rummage through the crew's boxed meals.

"Are you picky about boxed meals now?" The director stood behind him, growing impatient.

"Just trying to find one with sweet and sour ribs. Lin Jianlu likes them." Xie Wang flipped the bag upside down. "Got it, here's one."

"So thoughtful! Da Wang, find me one with a chicken leg," Chen Yimo jeered from behind the director.

"You don't have hands?" Xie Wang dug through the meals again, pulled out a box, and shoved it into Chen Yimo's hands.

"This is clearly a duck leg! Da Wang can't tell chicken from duck," Chen Yimo mocked loudly.

Xie Wang: "…Just you wait. I'm going to find a needle and thread right now and sew that big mouth of yours shut."

Director: "……"

Lin Jianlu didn't go to get a boxed meal, still sitting in the corner with his headphones on, working on his song.

Xie Wang trotted over with the boxed meal in his hand, and bent down to be at eye level with him.

"You should eat a little, at least until you're three points full. Otherwise, I'm worried you'll feel uncomfortable and have no energy during the shoot later," Xie Wang said. "Once we're done, I'll order a late-night snack for the entire crew."

Lin Jianlu didn't move, so Xie Wang opened the hotel lunchbox on his own, unwrapped the chopsticks, and forced them into his hands.

At first, he didn't want to eat, but the sweet and sour ribs in the lunchbox looked rather appetizing.

Seeing him move his chopsticks, Xie Wang smiled in satisfaction and went to pick his own boxed meal.

Lin Jianlu didn't eat much, remembering that the script supervisor had told him the scene tonight would be a bit challenging.

As soon as the break was over, both he and Chen Yimo were called away by the director.

The lakeside shrouded in the night was mild and tranquil.

"Chen Yimo deliberately brings you to the lakeside, pretends to be careless, gives you a chance to escape, but then catches you again, letting you narrowly miss the detective who's tracking you," the director explained. "He'll then tell your husband about this to cause him pain."

Lin Jianlu: "Hm, I understand."

"You'll have a conflict with Chen Yimo, which is basically… a one-sided 'fight scene,'" the director continued. "Worried that their omega would get hurt, the previous actor's company insisted on using a stunt double. Xingluo has asked that we respect your decision."

Lin Jianlu: "I'm fine with it."

Xie Wang remained silent.

Personally, he wanted a stunt double for the scene.

But the attainment of a professional actor wouldn't allow it, and neither would Lin Jianlu's dedication.

He respected Lin Jianlu's choice.

Before his rebirth, this scene in "Hidden Blade" had been done with a stunt double, resulting in fewer close-ups. The effect was indeed less than ideal.

"It's fine," Chen Yimo was eager to try, "I'll be careful."

"Alright, let's try to get through it quickly. If the take passes, we can still shoot Da Wang's bed scene tonight," the director said.

Night had fully fallen by the lakeside, with a gentle evening breeze rippling across the shimmering water—

Chen Yimo, dressed in all white, leaned against the car door.

"Can you do a painting of the stars?"

"I can," Lin Jianlu said in a low voice.

"Then come out." Chen Yimo opened the car door and pulled the omega out. "Draw one for me, and I'll take you to the art exhibit in the city center tomorrow."

A few seconds later, Chen Yimo, who didn't get an answer, yanked the door open again, dragging the man out and pressing a lit cigarette threateningly close to the corner of his eye.

"There's no drawing paper or easel..." the omega said.

"Hm? Oh, right," Chen Yimo laughed lightly. "Then I'll buy them for you."

With that, he leisurely strolled off into the night.

In the middle of nowhere, there was nowhere to buy those things. But with no restraints holding the omega back, the first thought that came to him was to escape.

Watching as that white figure gradually disappeared into the night, the omega turned around and ran in the opposite direction without hesitation.

"Give me a smirk. I'll get a close-up of your face," the director called out to Chen Yimo.

Chen Yimo leaned in towards the camera, curling his lips into a smile.

The omega spotted a pair of headlights in the darkness of the night. He seemed to see a beacon of hope, and he dashed towards the direction where people might be. However, the sound of footsteps chasing him grew closer and closer.

He was tackled to the ground.

The detective followed the clues to the artificial lake but found nothing. Only the sound of the lake breeze filled the night.

Lin Jianlu, pinned to the ground with Chen Yimo covering his mouth, helplessly watched as his lover disappeared into the distance.

"Tsk... he still can't cry," the director mused while reviewing the footage. "No rush, let Da Wang deal with him later. For now, let's keep going, finish the next part, and come back to the crying scene afterward."

Da Wang: "..." This is stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com/p/homepage.html

"He doesn't love you," Chen Yimo said gleefully, pinning Lin Jianlu's hands behind his back. "You're this close to him, and he can't even see you."

"When he's busy, he often doesn't see me," the omega said coldly, "It's enough that I like him."

The conceited alpha criminal was enraged, gripping the omega's hands as he dragged him all the way to the lake, and pushed him into the water.

The omega trembled and struggled in the water, splashing everywhere.

"Is that enough?" Xie Wang anxiously asked the director. "He's not a professional actor. You can't push him too hard."

Lin Jianlu, who had lifted out of the water by the neck, sat in the shallow area, coughing uncontrollably.

"Feeling good?" Chen Yimo caressed his cheek.

The omega shook his head, still gasping for air, and suddenly raised his hand, pulling out the short dagger at Chen Yimo's waist, and stabbing the other party.

The alpha didn't seem to expect this. His calf was cut, and blood soaked his clothes, some of it dispersing in the lake water.

"Feeling good?" the omega asked.

"Do you think I won't kill you?" Chen Yimo kicked the omega in the waist. Lin Jianlu fell down, half of his body submerged in the water, his clothes soaked. His cheeks were flushed from the earlier coughing, and clear droplets dripped from his black, damp hair, his face streaked with wet trails.

"You don't dare." The omega said, "If you kill me, he will have no weakness."

The crew immediately focused on a close-up.

"Worth it. The actor change is really worth it. The contradiction between the weak and the strong is really coming through," the director clapped in delight. "Once this movie is released, Lin Jianlu will definitely be popular. He's too beautiful."

Xie Wang sulked silently.

It was such a cold day, and his wife was rolling around in the water—just watching made his heart ache.

It didn't matter whether he became popular or not. All he wanted was Lin Jianlu's happiness and cheer.

Besides, Lin Jianlu had really choked just now; it wasn't just acting.

"Hurry up and shoot," Xie Wang urged. "It's too cold."

The scene resumed filming. The criminal, who had been toying with his victim, suddenly laughed for some reason and grabbed the omega's neck, pushing him back into the water.

Chen Yimo and Lin Jianlu splashed around in the water until the director finally called "cut."

Xie Wang was almost going crazy with heartache. Just as Chen Yimo was about to help Lin Jianlu out of the water, Xie Wang rushed over in a few quick steps, scooping him up in his arms and asking an assistant to pass him a dry towel.

"Im fine," Lin Jianlu said, having changed into his spare costume. Sitting on the ground, he leisurely dried his hair with a towel, his expression cold—nothing like the shattered and pitiful omega he'd just portrayed on screen.

Annoyed by how slow Lin Jianlu was being, Xie Wang grabbed the towel and rubbed it over his head.

"I should have known better than to let you take this role," Xie Wang said.

Lin Jianlu pursed his lips.

Xie Wang's movements froze.

Lin Jianlu… didn't join the crew because he liked him, right?

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Before his rebirth, he hadn't taken it seriously, but Lin Jianlu had always been recognized as the "No.1 cold and aloof face" in the entertainment industry and had been offered countless scripts.

Yet, Lin Jianlu had never accepted any of them.

So, Lin Jianlu is here because of him.

As the rough towel passed over the gland on the omega's nape, Lin Jianlu tilted his head to avoid it, causing Xie Wang's breath to hitch.

The alpha's fingers pressed against the back of the omega's neck through the towel.

"Senior," Lin Jianlu said, lowering his head, "please have some self-respect."

Xie Wang: "..."

I can have self-respect, but don't lower your head and arch your neck into my hand like that!

"Don't move around. I'm just drying your hair; it's too cold out," Xie Wang said, pressing him down to sit still.

The alpha's fingers pressed against the gland at the back of the omega's neck through the rough towel.

"Da Wang," the director rushed into the tent and shouted, "we still need to reshoot a part of the scene just now where he needs to cry. I'll leave it to you."

Xie Wang: "..."

Xie Wang quickly pulled the tent flap closed.
This is stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com/p/homepage.html
"Make yourself cry," he said. "I don't want to be mean to you again."

His omega had just shot a scene and looked so pitiful; he couldn't bring himself to be cruel.

Lin Jianlu blinked and winked but couldn't tear up.

"If you don't cry, I'll just throw you to that evil Chen Yimo. He's more black-hearted than I am," Xie Wang threatened.

"Okay," Lin Jianlu said, reaching for the tent's zipper, ready to leave.

Xie Wang, furious and exasperated, hooked his arm around Lin Jianlu's waist and dragged him back.

Lin Jianlu lay on his back on the ground, staring at him. His collar was slightly open, revealing the crimson birthmark of half a butterfly wing between his collarbones.

Xie Wang lowered his head and took a small bite of that slightly red mouth.

He may have a hundred ways to make Lin Jianlu cry, but in the end… he just couldn't bear to be harsh with Lin Jianlu again.

Lin Strawberry was so black-hearted.

Why did he still want to leave?

Lin Jianlu looked at him and turned away, exposing the omega's fragile neck.

As if to say—

Bite me! Just bite me. Bite me and make me cry. Are you too weak to do it?

Xie Wang forcefully suppressed the alpha's animalistic urge and didn't bite down.

"Lin YoYo," Xie Wang said seriously, "earlier during dinner, you changed the arrangement of a song."

Lin Jianlu: "Yeah?"

Xie Wang: "Later, I urged you to eat and helped you close the software."

Lin Jianlu: "Yeah??"

Xie Wang: "I don't think I saved it."

Lin Jianlu: "What???"

Seeing Lin Jianlu's eyes turning red with anger, Xie Wang pushed him toward Chen Yimo: "Shoot the scene!"

"You're awesome," Chen Yimo said, covering the omega's mouth with his hand and pressing him to the ground.

The camera zoomed in on the omega's slightly reddened, tearful eyes.

"Not bad, Da Wang!" the director said. "You're good at this! I only wanted him to cry, but you managed to get both sadness and anger out of him."

"Please shut up," Xie Wang said helplessly.

After finishing the scene, the first thing Lin Jianlu did was turn on his computer.

The arrangement was still there, and the latest save timestamp was in the evening.

So it's still there?

He hugged his laptop, looking a bit dazed and dull—far from his usual cold and frosty demeanor.

Xie Wang wanted to laugh just watching from afar.

Dumbfounded, aren't you?

How cute.

"What are we filming later tonight?" he asked the director, "Me and Lin Jianlu."

"Complete marking," the director replied, "Can you act that?"

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