“Cut—nice performance. Everyone take a break.”
The director spoke into his megaphone with satisfaction.
“Thanks for your hard work, Brother Nie.”
“Good job, Brother Nie.”
The people who had been locked in a tense confrontation immediately relaxed and dispersed.
They all greeted Nie Luo, who stood at the center of the group. Only after Nie Luo nodded to each of them did they head off to rest.
The tension in Nie Luo’s expression eased as well.
“Brother Nie, you worked hard. Put your jacket on first and have some water.”
The assistant stepped forward.
Nie Luo nodded, took the down jacket from him and draped it over his shoulders, then accepted the water bottle.
That scene earlier had involved a large amount of dialogue. After repeating it three times, his throat was parched.
He tilted his head slightly back, his Adam’s apple moving gently up and down.
A drop of clear water slipped from the corner of his lips and slowly traced its way over his Adam’s apple.
The assistant heard a very obvious intake of breath.
After a moment’s thought, he quietly shifted his position, blocking the crowd’s line of sight.
He was already somewhat used to it.
Nie Luo’s beauty transcended gender. It was an effortless, natural kind of beauty—hard not to notice.
After Nie Luo finished drinking, he also noticed what his assistant had done.
He gave a slight nod.
“Thank you for the trouble.”
The assistant smiled faintly.
“No trouble at all, Brother Nie. It’s my job.”
Nie Luo did not deny it.
That said, none of his previous assistants had ever managed to fulfill that “job” to this degree.
Only by comparison did the difference become clear.
After drinking the water, he suddenly thought of something.
“Did you check on it? Was it delivered?”
The assistant hesitated for barely a second before immediately understanding what he meant.
He nodded.
“I confirmed with them half an hour ago. It’s already been delivered to that person’s home.”
“That’s good.”
Nie Luo nodded.
After a brief pause, he suddenly said, “Where’s my phone? Let me take a look.”
“Here.”
The assistant quickly handed it to him.
Nie Luo lowered his head and glanced at the screen twice, his brows knitting slightly.
Why wasn’t there any message from A-Qing?
Had A-Qing received the delivery but been too busy to look at it yet?
That was not impossible.
Still, if that was the case, there was no way to know whether the sizes fit properly.
Nie Luo thought for a moment, then looked up.
“Can I free up an hour in my schedule today?”
The set was not far from the apartment he had given to A-Qing. If he went over to take a look, an hour should be enough.
The assistant rapidly ran through the schedule in his head, then replied with some regret.
“Sorry, Brother Nie. There’s no way to free up an hour today.”
After a brief pause, he added a reminder.
“And didn’t you forget? Recently there’s a new talent competition that contacted you, hoping you’d serve as a mentor. Didn’t you say you wanted to go talk about that collaboration?”
Hearing that, Nie Luo vaguely remembered.
That was true.
Given his current status, it would not have been a problem to decline such a run-of-the-mill talent show outright.
But the program’s director had once done him a favor.
A debt of gratitude always had to be repaid.
That said, being a permanent resident mentor was out of the question—he would still need to discuss the specific details in person.
After losing his manager, many matters at the studio now required his direct involvement.
He was busy.
So busy that he could not even spare time to see whether his boyfriend was satisfied with the gift.
Nie Luo let out a soft sigh and nodded.
“I understand.”
After taking a few more sips of water, it was once again Nie Luo’s turn to film.
He tidied himself up briefly and went back to catch up on the progress he had fallen behind on.
The set returned to its usual bustle.
But at the spot where Nie Luo and his assistant had been standing earlier, a figure slowly emerged from the corner.
If Fan Qing were here, he would definitely recognize this person.
It was the logistics worker who had once been instructed to arrange cold boxed meals for him and Jian Feiyang.
The man looked around, and only after confirming that no one had noticed him did he hurry off into another corner.
As soon as he slipped over, he leaned close to a man who was also dressed in costume.
“Brother Kong, I just heard something—”
Before he could finish, the man known as Kong Ge smiled.
“Went wandering around again? Don’t tell me your nicotine addiction flared up and you sneaked off for a smoke?”
The man froze, glanced around at the people nearby, then quickly forced a laugh.
“You caught that? Brother Kong really is sharp.”
Kong Ming smiled, his tone gentle on the surface.
“I knew you couldn’t sit still. You don’t have to force yourself to stay here with me. It was thoughtful of you to come visit the set, but it’s still early—why don’t you head back?”
Without waiting for a response, he smiled again.
“If there’s anything in the future, just text or call. No need to be so polite, especially running all the way to the set.”
A look of understanding immediately flashed through the man’s beady eyes.
He gave a thumbs-up.
“Brother Kong really gets it. Then I’ll take off first.”
Kong Ming smiled and nodded, watching him leave before beckoning to his assistant.
The assistant approached nervously.
“Brother Kong, what is it?”
The smile remained on Kong Ming’s face, but his voice turned chillingly cold.
“Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on him and not let him wander around?”
The assistant trembled.
“But he said he was just walking around the set and wouldn’t go far. And he’s your relative, so I—”
“Since when can any random thing count as my relative?”
Kong Ming sneered. “Go find out exactly where he went.”
After a pause, he added, “Be careful and thorough. Don’t let anyone notice.”
The assistant finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Understood, Brother Kong. I’ll check right away.”
Once that idiot was gone, Kong Ming calmly took out his phone.
Sure enough, there were two new text messages from that man.
Although the idiot had been foolish enough to lose his job before, he was far better at reading people than this useless assistant.
But what exactly had he overheard?
Kong Ming opened the messages, and a flash of wild delight crossed his eyes.
It was actually related to Nie Luo?
And if these two messages were true…
Kong Ming’s thoughts raced.
He was the second male lead. Even as the second male lead, his screen time and status were nowhere near Nie Luo’s.
But what if Nie Luo were exposed in a scandal?
Nie Luo had always been scandal-free. If his scandal were confirmed, would his fans still remain so blindly loyal?
As long as Nie Luo fell, why would Kong Ming worry about not replacing him?
And there was also that talent competition—
If Nie Luo really accepted it…
In just a few seconds, countless schemes flashed through Kong Ming’s mind.
He clenched his phone and slowly exhaled.
This was an absolutely perfect opportunity.
After sending his message, the shifty-eyed man waited for quite a while.
But even after some time had passed, there was still no reply.
He frowned instinctively.
What—such explosive information, and that guy was not even planning to pay an information fee?
After waiting a bit longer, his expression grew ugly.
His finger slid up and down the contact list, until it suddenly stopped on a familiar name.
Jing Yuan?