Slumping back in his chair, Yu Junqing let out a long breath. “Huh…” He finally lifted his hand to take the iced water from Xiao Yitong.
The past few days of filming had been exhausting, but he hadn’t felt this kind of fatigue in a long time—and strangely, it felt good.
After a moment, he gulped down nearly half the bottle in a few swigs, when a phone was extended toward him from the side.
“Yu Ge, looks like you have a message.” It was one of those messages sent when he first started filming—he wasn’t sure if it was urgent.
“Mm, thanks.” Yu Junqing took the phone, swiped to unlock, and saw it was from Xu Zong.
Huh? This guy actually sent me a message? Truly a rare event! Yu Junqing raised an eyebrow, a hint of incredulity and mockery in his eyes. Xu Zong wouldn’t possibly have good intentions, right?
He looked carefully at the message…
Yu Junqing didn’t quite understand what Xu Zong meant. He was warning him to watch out for Zhu Wen? What did that even mean?
“Yu Ge?” Xiao Yitong noticed his expression—it was strange. Whose message was this? Yu Ge didn’t look happy at all.
“Nothing, just a scam,” Yu Junqing said, dismissing Xu Zong. Who could expect anything good from a weasel sending greetings to a chicken?
“Oh…” Xiao Yitong rolled his eyes subtly. Yu Ge wasn’t a child, yet he always casually brushed things off.
“Ding~” Another message arrived. Yu Junqing’s expression darkened—it was Xu Zong again.
He glanced at it, almost dropping the phone.
Rui Ge? Yu Junqing was surprised to receive a message from him. He wasn’t eager to open it, though—his feelings were complicated.
He couldn’t quite define how he felt about Rui Ge—there was some admiration, maybe even a bit of respect. But after seeing the message, he wasn’t very inclined to reach out; he didn’t want to seem shameless. After all, they were strangers.
“Yu Ge, is this another scam?” Xiao Yitong, seeing his grim expression, hesitated to ask what the message said, feigning casualness.
Yu Junqing shook his head instinctively, but finally tapped to open the message.
“Yu Zong, your family… how can they be so shameless? Doing something like this? See the video for details. Link: [URL].”
…
Yu Junqing’s expression twitched. No matter how he looked at it, this message seemed like some uncivilized, anti-censorship nonsense.
Did Rui Ge lose his phone? Suddenly, his mood lifted. Maybe the last message he received wasn’t even from Rui Ge after all.
“Yu Ge’s face-changing skills are really something…” Xiao Yitong muttered to himself, pulling out his phone to scroll Weibo.
Yu Junqing stared at the message and had a sudden thought: maybe he could use this as an excuse to call Rui Ge!
Once the idea took root, he felt almost possessed by it, unable to suppress the impulse.
He fidgeted with his phone, long fingers trembling slightly before finally pressing to dial.
“Hello, this is Bo Rui.” Compared to the bright voice at home, Bo Rui’s tone was noticeably deeper now.
Yu Junqing froze for a moment, nearly blanking out—but thinking quickly, he slipped into his male lead persona from the film.
“Rui Ge, it’s me, Junqing.” His voice, warm and clear, like the gentle trickle of a spring, instantly dispelled the lingering irritability in Bo Rui’s mind.
“Yu Junqing?” Bo Rui was surprised. He had given Junqing his number but never expected him to call first.
“Mm, I hope I’m not disturbing you at work?” Yu Junqing went all out, his usual cold, expressionless persona softened with care, leaving Xiao Yitong dumbfounded. What kind of phone call just automatically triggers ‘lead actor mode’?
“Not at all. I was just reviewing documents this afternoon, plenty of free time.” Bo Rui rubbed his forehead and kicked Xiao Liang away, who had tried sneaking a peek. The mischievous assistant would just have to pay for his blunder this month.
“That’s good. By the way, Rui Ge… is something wrong with your phone?” Yu Junqing’s mind snapped back to reality, tense at the thought of the message.
“You got it too?” Bo Rui groaned. Looks like Xiao Liang really deserved to eat dirt for two weeks straight.
“Mm, I thought you might not know, so I wanted to call and warn you.” Yu Junqing realized Rui Ge must have noticed his phone was compromised too.
“All right, thanks. When you have time, I’ll treat you to a meal—come to my place.” Bo Rui, to his own surprise, said this without hesitation. Normally, he hated having anyone over, yet the words slipped out, impossible to retract.
Yu Junqing’s heart raced at the thought of eating at Rui Ge’s place. Overjoyed, he almost couldn’t contain himself, stifling a laugh.
“Great, then tonight. I only have one scene today, just wrapped up, so I’m free in the evening.” Yu Junqing seized the moment, afraid Rui Ge was merely being polite. He offered a time, holding his breath for Bo Rui’s response.
Bo Rui hadn’t expected him to be so decisive. The idea of dining with his favorite actor made him secretly happy. He also didn’t mind Yu Junqing at his home—after all, the mess Xiao Liang caused was his problem. Better to finish work early today.
Yu Junqing hung up, finally showing a trace of joy. But before he could savor it, Xiao Yitong leaned over, frowning.
“Yu Ge, look at Weibo. Zhu Wen actually posted about you!”
Yu Junqing blinked, following Xiao Yitong’s phone to read it. Zhu Wen’s latest post was: So annoying!
Is this even a problem? Yu Junqing looked up at Xiao Yitong, who understood immediately and quickly opened another post.
Entertainment Squad Captain v: Fresh-faced actor bullied by the movie emperor? Helplessly cries to fans. Looks like the crew really has “hidden rules”! Video link.
Yu Junqing frowned. Did Zhu Wen buy this post?
Xiao Yitong, frustrated, clicked the video. “Yu Ge, look! Someone even uploaded footage from your filming, claiming you used your actor status to bully Zhu Wen. Pfft!” His rare anger showed on his usually calm, doll-like face.
Yu Junqing watched the video, feeling uneasy. It was footage from the scene with Zhu Wen—complete with the segment where he ‘instructed’ Zhu Wen.
The blogger’s clever editing made it appear as if he had been oppressing Zhu Wen with his seniority. Junqing knew the comments below would be overwhelmingly one-sided.
“Yu Ge, can you believe he’d use this to stir up drama? All those takes he messed up forced you to redo the scene and guide him—and he dares to call it the crew’s ‘hidden rules’.” Xiao Yitong fumed. Zhu Wen clearly had ulterior motives; his performance slipped only in scenes opposite Yu Junqing.
“Junqing!” dy suddenly burst into the dressing room, startling both Junqing and Xiao Yitong.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Junqing felt an uneasy premonition.
“Never mind, come over. I’ll redo your makeup.” dy opened her compact bag and within five minutes transformed Yu Junqing’s look so dramatically that even his parents wouldn’t recognize him, leaving Xiao Yitong dumbfounded.
“All set. Quick—do you know the back door on the second floor? Go out through there. Xiao, you stay behind!” dy pushed him gently. Yu Junqing understood, said nothing, and hurriedly left as instructed.